


Vause Crematory and Funeral Home

by Freckled_Satan



Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:10:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 31,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26430118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freckled_Satan/pseuds/Freckled_Satan
Summary: Piper begins a new job at a local funeral home. It soon becomes apparent that there's more mortifying things to be found about Vause Crematory and Funeral Home than just dead bodies.
Relationships: Lorna Morello/Nicky Nichols, Piper Chapman/Alex Vause
Comments: 14
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains very gruesome descriptions of death as well as the things that come with death. Please proceed with caution if you are sensitive to those things.

“I don’t know Pipes…” Larry sighed, placing a carefully saran wrapped sandwich into a to-go lunch box. “This job sounds cool but, I think once you actually start you’ll think it’s majorly gross.”   
“Larry, don’t be such a wet blanket.” Piper slid the lunch box across the counter and began to zip it closed, giving it a congratulatory pat on the lid.   
“I get it. You’re 25, you wanna do something cool and adventurous but...does it have to be this?” He extended his hand to her hip, pulling her closer. She liked the way he always managed to smell like blueberry flavored coffee no matter how early it was in the morning.   
“Why don’t you just stay home and dance around on TicTac all day like every other blonde white woman in Brooklyn.” Larry nuzzled his chin into the crook of her neck.   
“I think you mean TikTok.” She corrected him. “And, because I would like to do something for myself and not give the impression that I’m mooching off of you and your hard earned lawyer money...like your parents seem to think.”   
Piper turned to face him in their embrace and kissed his lips softly.   
“Besides, extra money is always a good thing.”   
“Yeah, living people money. Not dead people money.” Larry kissed her again. Piper pulled his arms away from her waist and grabbed her purse off the counter top.   
“Technically it is living people money.” She said. “I’m not taking the money of dead people. I’m making money off of dead people.”   
Piper slang her purse over her shoulder and grabbed her lunch box. Larry snagged her keys off the counter before she could grab them.   
“Please just think about my offer.” He made a heavy sigh, looking deeply into her eyes.   
“Larry.” Piper crossed her arms. “I’m not taking the secretary job at your father’s law office. This isn’t the 1950’s. I’m much more than a mantle piece who sharpens pencils and answers phones all day.”   
“I know that, Pipes. I do. But, do you really want to do this? You don’t have to take this job picking up dead bodies to prove a point to my parents or your parents or whoever else.” Larry pleaded.   
“No, I do not have to take this job for any of those reasons.” Piper shook her head slowly. “But, I will not sit around the apartment all day making soaps with Polly when I don’t think she’s actually got her head in the game with the baby on the way. Not to mention, you’ve been working from home three days a week for the past four months and I love you, believe me Larry, I do. But, I cannot spend twenty-four consecutive hours with you more than two times a week. Not because-”   
“Not because of me, because of your need for routine, I know.” Larry cut her off.  
“Exactly!.” She smiled and slid her car keys out of his clasped hand. “Plus, it’s only part time. Six hours, four days a week. Simple.” She pecked him on the cheek.   
“Fine.” He sighed. “But when you come across a horribly disfigured, rotted body, and you throw up I’m gonna say I told you so.”   
“Deal.” She said before leaving the apartment. 

Piper was truly beginning to regret the conversation she’d had with Larry only two days prior as she looked at the scene in front of her. A three hundred pound man who had died in his apartment in the Brooklyn summer heat before being found four days later in his recliner by the maintenance staff.   
“Jesus fuck.” Piper covered her nose with the back of her wrist, struggling to take minimal breaths through her mouth to avoid the repulsive smell.   
“Ah, this ain’t that bad.” Her coworker shrugged. Her coworker was a woman by the name of Nicky Nichols. She had a wild mane of blond curls on her head and wide, chocolate saucers for eyes. She had her hands placed on her hips as she scanned over the apartment, admiring the vintage decorations.   
“Whatta guy, huh? Good music taste.” She nodded, looking over at Piper.   
“How are you breathing right now?” Piper asked in disgust.   
“Look kid, I’ve been doin’ this job for about two years now. Seen almost everything there is to see when it comes to death. You get used to the smell of decomposing flesh.” She nodded her head towards the bloated body of the man they were here to remove from the premises.   
“When?” Piper gagged.   
“Ehhh….about two years in.” Nichols laughed and clapped her hands. “Alright let’s get this taken care of.”   
Piper fought back the urge to vomit up her breakfast and followed behind Nicky. There was a police officer on scene but he had chosen to stand in the hallway outside of the apartment. Piper envied him.   
Piper had known the description of the job when she applied. Removal Technician for a locally owned funeral home, Vause Crematory and Funeral Services. She had never had the slightest interest in funeral services. Of course, she was curious about death, as most people are. But, she’d never put any thought into being a funeral director or anything of the likes. She’d gone to school for accounting but had dropped out three-fourths of her way through college to explore other options, much to the disdain of her parents. She’d always planned to go back, or at least gave the illusion that she did, but then she met Larry, and suddenly school was no longer a requirement.   
When she applied she more or less did it just to see if she’d even receive a reply. It was a random notification that’d appeared on her Indeed app. Just the thought of actually picking up dead bodies for a living was an exciting one. She imagined getting the job, telling fascinating yet mortifying stories to friends at parties, and seeing the behind the scenes of funerals.   
“Have you ever seen a dead body?” The Russian woman who’d interviewed her asked.   
“Yes.” She answered honestly. “My Nana, when she passed away in the hospital and afterwards at the funeral.”  
“Did you smell her?” The woman asked, lowering her glasses to meet Piper’s eyes.  
“Did I...Did I smell her?” Piper repeated.   
“Yes. Did she pee on herself, release her bowels, vomit? Any of those things?”   
“No..Not that I know of.” She shook her head.  
“Then what makes you so sure you can handle this job?” The Russian sat back in her chair, letting her glasses hang on her chest from their knitted lanyard.   
“I’m not sure. But, I’d most definitely like to try.” Piper said excitedly.   
Of course, she did not consider the fact that she may have to pick up bodies that were way beyond her weight lifting abilities nor did she consider just how bad a rotted human body could smell. It was only her third day and she was already discovering the ungodly fluids and gasses that emitted from a corpse that was left to its own devices for nearly a week.   
The first two days had been reasonably easy. Nursing homes with tiny hundred pound women who’d died in their sleep. Hospitals with people who’d died from heart attacks, but there was always a security staff to help her lower the body onto the cot from a pulley system specially installed in the morgue. But this. This was raw, hot, smelly, and absolutely stomach-churning.   
“Alright. So get the cot, bring it to the foot end of the recliner.   
Nichols had been the one at her side training her since the moment Piper had clocked in on her first day. She was odd and very eccentric, but Piper was fond of her. She was very patient and understanding, taking the time to explain everything Piper may need to know in things pertaining to the job.   
Piper did as she was told and rolled their metal cot to the foot end of the dead man’s recliner. The closer she inched, the stronger the smell became.   
“I know kid, it’s nasty, but it's gotta get done.” Nichols pulled the velvet colored cot cover away and threw it onto the floor, unbuckling the black straps attached to it.   
“I’m sorry, it’s just-”  
“It’s alright. You’ll get more used to it the more you see it. Now do me a favor and tie the toe tag around his big toe.” Nichols handed Piper the already filled out tag from her pocket. Piper took it into her gloved hand and reached forward, trying desperately to avoid touching the corpse’s grotesquely long toenails. She tied it as tightly as she could in her state of distress and stepped back, waiting on Nicky’s next instruction. Nicky laid an unzipped body bag across the top of the cot.   
“What we’re gonna do, is we’re each gonna grab an ankle. He’s a big guy and he’s been down a few days. So his skin might slide off. If that happens, don’t let go, grab on tighter and keep pulling.”   
Piper grimaced at the thought.   
“When we pull him he’s gonna slide outta the recliner, onto the cot, on top of the body bag. That’s when we’ll zip him up, buckle him in, raise the cot up, cover him, and get the hell outta here. Sound like a plan?” She asked, running her tongue over her front teeth.   
“Yeah.” Piper nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”   
“Let’s do it.”   
They each took a hold of one of the man’s ankles. Piper on the left of him, Nicky on the right.   
“1...2...3! Pull!” Nicky exclaimed.   
They pulled with all their might, Piper straining as she did. Just as Nicky had warned, the man’s skin began to slide off in Piper’s hands.   
“Oh god!” Piper cried.   
“Yep!” Nicky replied.   
Piper kept pulling, trying desperately to keep her cool and ignore the slimy, squishy texture under her fingers. As they pulled the man a gurgling sound escaped his throat and stomach acid began to pour out from between his lips, worsening the smell that was already so thick in the stuffy apartment. He slid relatively easily from the recliner to the cot, leaving a large black stain on the brown fabric of the chair.   
Nichols zipped the bag with bloodied, puss covered gloves. Piper jumped in to buckle the black straps over the body bag. They threw the cot cover over the top of him, both panting heavily from the high intensity strength training they had just endured. Piper could feel strands of hair sticking to her forehead and when she peeled her gloves away from her hands, they were drenched as if she had just put them under the kitchen tap.   
“Nice work.” Nichols huffed, pushing her hands through her hair. “Let’s follow through with the last step of the plan and get the hell outta here.”   
“Happily.” Piper breathed and opened the apartment door, comforted by the feeling of fresh air, flowing in from the hallway.   
They wheeled the cot out, turning carefully so not to tip the body over onto the ground. The police officer nodded his head to them.   
“Have a good one ladies.” He smiled.   
“Yeah, thanks again for all the help man. Couldn’t have done it without ya.” Nichols said sarcastically with a small wave. 

The two regrouped in the car. Piper was caught by surprise to learn that they would not be transporting bodies via a hearse. Instead, the bodies were transported in what looked like a large delivery van. The inside was customized with divots in the steel flooring to lock the legs of the cot into to avoid flipping a body over when hitting a sharp turn or stomping on the brakes. It also had no back windows, only a driver and passenger window to keep passersby from looking in and noticing the cargo in question.   
“I tell ya man, those cops get lazier by the fuckin’ day!” Nichols hit her hand against the wheel. “Do ya ladies need help with this three hundred pound guy? Yes? Oh, well I’m just gonna stand out here and jerk off while you two get fuckin’ bodily fluids all over your pantsuits and then once I’m done beating my dick I’m gonna go home and beat my wife. Go fuck yourself!”   
She rolled her window down and lit a cigarette. Piper wasn’t one for cigarettes, but she appreciated the smell of the cigarette covering the smell of the cot in the back of the vehicle.   
“Do they really never help?” Piper asked, rolling her own window down.   
“The older officers gave up on helping the funeral homes out a long time ago. The new young guys are usually roided out douchebags who’d rather be off beatin’ the shit outta some homeless guy in the park and are overall shitty that they even have to be in the presence of two women picking up a corpse. Every once in a while you get a baby faced kid fresh outta the academy wanting to prove himself to the big dogs who’ll jump in and grab an arm or somethin’ but usually, you’re on your own. If you really want help, you’re better off to call the fire department.” Nichols shrugged.   
“Wow. That’s actually really shitty.” Piper said.   
“Yeah, it is.” Nichols nodded, hitting her cigarette.   
“You said, two women picking up a corpse. Is it always women doing this job?” Piper asked.   
“If you count out the old white dudes who run every fucking thing beyond embalmings, no. If you’re going off the numbers of people hired in the funeral industry in the past ten years, yes. The funeral industry is becoming female dominated, and hey, I’m cool with that.” Nichols swerved, narrowly missing a teenager on a bike.   
“Was your removal partner before me a woman?” Piper pressed.   
“Uh, yeah. Yeah her name was Tricia.” Nichols nodded.  
“Why’d she quit?”   
“Found somethin’ better.” Nichols slowed the van as they reached the funeral home. She backed the vehicle into the parking lot, opening a garage door. Once inside the garage, the two women exited the van, pulled the cot out of the car, and rolled it into the hallway.   
Piper peeled her black blazer off her sweat coated body and threw it over the back of an office chair, trudging into the prep room.   
The prep room is where each embalming and cosmetics takes place. With Vause Crematory and Funeral Services being a locally owned funeral home, the staff was very small. Besides Piper and Nicky there were only two other removal technicians, three embalmers, including Nicky, one dispatcher, and two funeral directors.   
Piper was surprised to find that Nichols not only removed the bodies but she embalmed them as well. As she watched Nichols examine the decomposing body of the man they’d unloaded from the car only moments before, Piper thought back to her first day. It was strange to think that was only forty-eight hours ago as she’d seen and done so many things since those first six hours of her new career. Would she call it a career? Could part-time be considered a career? All she knew was that from the very first moment she laid eyes on a dead body, lying on a metal table, being worked on by Nichols, she was captivated.   
Part of her wanted to vomit and run away back into the arms of Larry. Tell him he was right and this job was in fact too gross. The other part wanted to attach to Nichols’ hip and watch every tiny detail of her work. She was gliding around the room in a blue surgical gown, using this sharp tool, and that sharp tool to cut an incision into the dead woman’s neck. Digging deep into her flesh to find an artery and begin flowing embalming fluid through her discontinued system. Nichols had looked up from the body she was working on, cigarette hanging from her bottom lip.   
“What’s up?” She asked, nodding her chin to the timid Piper.   
“Hi...I uh, I’m Piper.” She introduced herself, sounding like a scared little girl.   
“You’re the new chick, huh? Removal tech?” She took a gloved hand and ashed her cigarette into a neatly placed ash tray on a shelf a few feet away from her.   
“Yes. Can you smoke in here?” She asked.   
“It's a locally owned business baby. You do what you want when you haven’t sold out.” Nichols chuckled. She grabbed a rubber hose attached to a metal sink in the wall and began streaming water over the dead woman’s face, washing away dried blood trailing from her nostrils.   
“Go ahead and have a seat. I’m ‘bout done with this one and I’ll give ya the tour.”   
Piper continued to stand, watching closely as Nichols inserted, pulled out, and reinserted a large pair of triceps into the woman’s neck at a fast pace. This caused multiple large blood clots to spill out onto the table. The rubber hose pouring water flushed the blood away in a fast stream down the table and into a large circular hole at the end of the table that flowed into a drain in the floor. It had never dawned on Piper that embalmers simply flushed human fluids down the drain and into the ocean. Surely, they had some super special, environmentally healthier option? In fact, none of this had ever dawned on Piper at all. The fact that people saw and touched dead bodies all day every day. Stuck metal things into their necks to drain them of their insides and filled them back up with carcinogenic chemicals. Then she thought about her Nana. Her Nana had been on one of these metal tables. She’d been flushed down the drain into the ocean. Piper started to breathe heavier.   
“Ready for the tour?” Nichols asked, snapping her latex gloves off her hands loudly.   
“Oh! Yeah.” Piper pulled her black blazer over her body tightly and followed after Nichols who stripped off her gown. Underneath the gown was a short sleeved white t-shirt and black slacks. She’d had her up in a loose bun to embalm but now she let it down, letting her curls bounce beautifully as they slowly walked away from the embalming table.   
“Well, since you’ve made it all the way back here, I’m guessing you’ve met Red.” Nichols asked, pushing her hair out of her eyes.  
“Red? I met Mrs.Reznikov if that’s who you mean.”   
“Haha, yeah.” Nichols chuckled. “She always makes new people call her Mrs.Reznikov. Everybody calls her Red. She’s our dispatcher.”   
“Dispatcher?” Piper asked.   
“Yeah. If we get a call about a body needing picked up, a casket being delivered, anything really, it goes through her. She answers the phones, all that good stuff. Think of her as a secretary, really.” Nichols gestured her hand towards the front of the funeral home where Red’s desk sat, near the entrance door. “Red holds down the fort. I’m Nicky. Everybody calls me Nichols. I’m an embalmer, slash removal technician, slash whatever fuckin’ else they need done around here. I change lightbulbs n’ shit sometimes, it's whatever.”   
That made Piper chuckle.   
“Overall, there’s like seven of us who work here. Me, Red, Lorna, Tasha, Poussey, I know it’s a real stupid name but don’t make fun of it or she gets touchy, the big boss, and then you.” Nichols continued walking towards the entrance of the prep room. She nearly collided with a short woman entering the room.   
“Ah speak of the devil!” Nichols exclaimed.   
“Poussey?” Piper asked.   
“Are you kiddin’ me?” The woman asked, chewing on a piece of blue bubblegum. “If that were my name I’d kill myself.”   
“This is Lorna.” Nichols gestured to the woman. “She does removals and cosmetics.”   
Lorna stuck a perfectly manicured hand out to Piper. Piper shook it, smiling at her.   
“Nice to meet you. I’m Piper.”   
“Cute name. You’re the new tech?” She asked.   
“Yes ma’am.”   
“Well, hopefully you stick around. The last few were such sissies they ducked out a month in.” Lorna scoffed and brushed past Piper into the prep room, throwing on a gown hanging from a hook on the wall.   
“There’s two in the back room for ya, Lorn.” Nichols said, leading Piper into the hall. The hallway was lined with two caskets on each side, bodies placed neatly inside them with their hands folded over their chests. Up close, they truly did look like they were sleeping.   
“So do you guys get pretty busy then? With the bodies?” Piper asked.  
“Ah, not really. It’s been an unusually busy week. This isn’t the norm. We’ve had an influx of bodies being shipped out to other parts of the country. Gang deaths, you know how it goes.” Nichols said casually.   
“Uh, yeah.” Piper agreed, not understanding a single thing Nichols had just expressed. “So, the big boss.” She changed the subject. Is that Mr.Vause? Does he come here often? Should we be extra careful when he’s around? What’s that dynamic like?”   
“Well Mrs.Vause is here damn near everyday. She’s just gone the next two days for a business trip.” Nichols answered, turning the corner into an office.   
“Oh. Mrs.Vause.” Piper corrected herself.   
“Yeah, she’s ‘bout as cool as they come. Real laid back, as long as you get your job done. One of those, don’t start no shit and there won’t be no shit types. She’s a hard worker.”   
Nichols pointed at a desk in the corner. “That’s the removal tech computer. All the info about decedents is in there so if you ever need anything that’s the place.”   
The sound of a garage door opening interrupted Nichols.   
“Ah, the girls are back. Come on.” Nichols ushered Piper back down the hallway, past the prep room to a doorway at the end of the hallway. The door swung open and in came two women pushing a cot with a body wrapped in white sheets riding atop it. The smaller of the two women was in the front. She smiled widely and gave a wave.  
“Hey. You’re the new tech?” She asked.   
“Yes. Hello. I’m Piper.” She extended a hand.   
“Ah, you don’t want that. Not until I wash them at least. We ran outta gloves in the van cause somebody,” She shot a look towards the prep room where Lorna was humming away as she applied lipstick to a woman’s lips. “didn’t replace them like I asked.”   
“Sorry P, it was 5:00 and you know I’ve got Zumba after work.” Lorna said, not looking up from her project.   
“So you just uh...touched the body with no gloves on?” Piper asked, tilting her head to the side.   
“Gotta do what you gotta do man.” The woman shrugged. “I’m Poussey. Nice to meet you Piper.” Poussey rolled the cot into the prep room, leaving the larger woman standing in the hall.   
“Welcome to the team, Piper.” The woman extended a hand. “I did wear gloves so you’re safe to shake my hand.”   
“Hello. Thank you.” Piper smiled and shook her hand. “So you must be Tasha?”   
“Yes ma’am. Tasha Jefferson.” She nodded, folding her hands and looking to Nichols.   
“I was just giving her the tour of our world renowned funeral home. I’ve got a couple bodies to get prepped. You mind showing her the rest of it?” Nichols asked.  
“No problem. Come with me Piper.” Tasha pushed forward towards the door that had originally led Piper to the hall that contained the entrance to the prep room. They headed back up front near Red’s desk and made a right turn towards a double set of doors.   
“This is our chapel. This is where services are held.” Tasha explained.   
“Wow.” Piper looked up in awe. A massive chandelier hung from a ceiling painted with cherubs and clouds. “It’s beautiful.”   
“Miss Vause had it done herself.” Tasha commented, admiring the work as well. “If you follow me this way it’ll take you to our reception area. This is where families can mingle after a service.”   
Tasha led Piper to an even larger room that looked very nearly like a ballroom. Extravagant tables were placed strategically throughout the room with center pieces made of fake roses.   
“This is massive.” Piper said quietly, mostly speaking to herself.  
“I know, right. Impressive for a little local joint.” Tasha nodded. She kept walking, circling out of the reception area, back through the chapel, and past Red’s who gave her a nod as she slouched into her desk reading through a romance novel.   
They walked up a staircase to an upper floor that contained only three doors. One was marked STORAGE while the other two read TASHA JEFFERSON FD and ALEX VAUSE FD/GENERAL MANAGER.   
Tasha opened the door to her office, gesturing for Piper to take a seat in front of her desk. She sat in her own desk chair and let out a deep sigh, laying her hands on the desk.   
“That’s about the gist of our little funeral home.” She said kindly. “Do you have any questions for me?”   
Piper thought for a moment.   
“So, who exactly, is my boss here?” She asked.   
“Well technically that would be Alex, our general manager. But, if you have any questions or concerns you can always come to me. Nichols is also a very good source.”   
“Can you tell me what duties everyone around here has? Nichols does removals and embalmings. So does Poussey do that as well? Do I need to be able to do that? Because I don’t have a license for it…” Piper asked cautiously.   
“No, don’t worry about that.” Tasha chuckled. ”Alex, Nichols, and myself are the ones who embalm. Nichols and I went to school for it. Alex learned from her mother. Lorna does removals but she has a knack for cosmetics and went to beauty school so she does that as well. Poussey doesn’t have a degree so she sticks to removals and other small things that need done. You’re on the same level as Poussey if that helps you see what responsibilities you’ll have on the job. Again, because we aren’t a corporation, we’re a little bit more relaxed on rules. If Alex, Nichols, or I see some potential in you, we may very well take you under our wing and give you some mentoring in embalming and funeral directing if you had any interest in that.”   
Piper perked up.   
“I’ve never really thought about it but, seeing it definitely attracted me.”   
“Well I’m happy to hear it. Welcome aboard.” 

Piper watched Nichols unzip the black body bag containing the large man from the apartment. He was bloated and purple. His face was so badly swollen that his eyes were closed.   
“It’s like seeing a train wreck right?” Nichols commented, throwing on a gown. “You wanna look away so bad but you can’t.”   
“Yeah, really.” Piper said in disgust. She held a clipboard in her hands, observing the body.   
“Hurry up with that ICA, that guy smells like the world’s nastiest fart.” Lorna said from across the room as she curled a woman’s hair.   
“I’m trying, sorry.” Piper apologized. “You know, I always see these papers in crime shows but I didn’t think they were real.” She looked over the paper on her clipboard. It showed a blank figure of a body with its arms spread. This was the Initial Condition Assessment, otherwise known as an ICA. This is where she would record any markings, injuries, or other physical traits about a body she’d removed. She learned that on her first day and didn’t let Larry hear the end of it either.   
“Yeah, there’s a lot of shit they don’t tell you about the funeral industry.” Nichols commented, holding a tape measure to the dead man’s slimy arms.   
“Elbow width is twenty one inches.”   
Piper jotted it down.   
“Height is five foot ten, livor mortis and decomposition on the entirety of the body. Make sure you check the box that says odor, too.”   
“Definitely the box that says odor.” Lorna commented. Nichols chuckled at that.   
“Rigor mortis in the arms and legs. That’s about it. Let’s get him in the cooler.”   
Piper quickly wrote down what Nichols had communicated and zipped the body bag closed again. She rolled the cot across the prep room to the large steel door in the wall. Nichols opened it and Piper rolled the cot into the cooler, carefully steering as not to hit the few other bodies currently residing inside of it.   
She pushed the cot into an available spot and turned to leave, accidentally bumping into another cot and knocking the clipboard containing paperwork off of it.   
“Shit.” She bent over to collect the papers when the cooler door slammed shut.   
Piper stood straight up and briskly walked to the door, setting her hand onto the cold door knob. She pushed it. It wouldn’t budge.   
“No.” She gasped. “No no no.” She pushed it with both hands to no avail. Piper turned her back to the door and tried to push on it with her feet planted onto the tile flooring. She hadn’t realized the body bag that held the decomposed man had leaked onto the cooler floor, causing her feet to slip out from under her, sending her to the floor. Piper landed on her back, feeling cold moisture seep through her black blouse onto her back. She gagged and sat up, looking at her surroundings. Half a dozen cots with bodies on them. Bodies covered in white sheets with their feet sticking out at the ends. The coolant fans in the ceiling made the sheets ripple over the faces of the bodies, giving the illusion that they were breathing. Piper’s chest began to tighten.   
“Hey!” She shouted, beating her fist against the door of the cooler. “Nichols!” She yelled.   
Her breathing began to fasten. The cots looked like they were beginning to move. Were they moving? Wait, the body bag is crinkling. Oh god.   
“Lorna! Poussey!” She yelled louder. The panic in her chest was worsening. “Fuck, please no.” She closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands, kicking her foot against the door. The heels she was wearing gave her toes no protection from the cold steel but she didn’t care.   
“Please! Let me out!” She was on the verge of tears. Her body lurched forward as the door was opened. She fell into someone before she stumbled backwards, catching herself on the doorway of the cooler.   
“Woah, you alright?”   
Piper steadied herself, looking up at the tall woman. A mane of black hair fell naturally down her shoulders, her glasses framing captivating green eyes. She had her hands held out in front of her, palms facing Piper. Her toned arms showing under her button up white blouse. The sleeves were rolled much farther than they were made to be, flashing her rose tattoo on her upper right bicep.   
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” Piper breathed, pushing a tuft of blonde hair off of her forehead.   
“Was it the doorknob? God damn it, Nicky! I told you that thing needs greased.” The woman turned to face Nichols and Lorna across the room who were lost in their own conversation.   
“Wha-Oh shit, Piper. I’m sorry. Lorna was trying to show me something. I completely forgot that door gets stuck sometimes. That’s my bad, friend.” Nichols said, looking genuinely sorrowful.   
Piper took a deep breath and smoothed out her pants, trying to ignore the cold, damp touch of whatever it was that was now soaked into the back of her shirt.   
“I’m sorry. That’s such a shitty way to introduce you to my funeral home.” The woman smirked and shook her head. She extended a hand to Piper. “Alex Vause.”  
“Piper.” She smiled and took her hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you Miss Vause.”   
“Miss Vause is my mother. Call me Alex.” She smiled.   
“Okay.” Piper hadn’t let go of her hand. “Alex.”   
Their eyes stayed locked onto each other for a split second longer than what Piper would have called casual. Alex let go of her hand to look to Nichols who was now headed their way.   
“My man.” Nichols threw an arm around Alex’s neck, straining to meet her height. “How was Vegas, huh? Any gamblin’?” She shot a glance back towards Lorna. “Any ladies?”   
“I heard that, Nicky.” Lorna said, not looking up from her magazine.   
“No you didn’t.” She shot back, winking at Alex.   
“Gambling, no. Ladies, no. Getting my ass chewed out by a bunch of old dudes telling me about finances and how to cut back costs by using only a certain brand of embalming fluids and not allowing my employees lunch breaks? Yes. Plenty of that.” Alex nudged Nicky off of her.   
“Bummer.” Nicky said simply, placing her hands on her hips. “Speaking of unpaid lunch breaks. You guys wanna go out? It’s about that time.”   
“I could go for lunch.” Lorna agreed.   
“Sounds good to me.” Alex shrugged, looking at Piper. “You coming with?”   
“Oh uh, I was actually gonna stop at home. See my fiance.” Piper made up an excuse in an attempt to be able to go home and change out of her soiled blouse.   
“Oh come on. I’ll pay. It’s the least I can do after accidentally locking you in that scary ass cooler.” Alex offered.   
“Come on Pipes...It’s happy hour.” Nicky did a shimmy, her curls bouncing as she did.   
“Well…” She smiled.  
“Piper, come on!” Lorna pushed.   
“Fine. Fine, I’ll go.” She laughed.   
“Let’s roll!” Nicky nodded towards the door.   
“Shouldn’t we grab Mrs. Jefferson and Poussey?” Piper asked.   
“Poussey and Taystee never come along.” Nichols waved it away.   
“Taystee?”   
“Oh, right. Mrs.Jefferson.” Nichols chuckled. “Yeah, Mrs.Jefferson doesn’t do lunch, and Poussey doesn’t do anything without Mrs.Jefferson.” 

The women found a small Italian place down the street from the funeral home. Alex and Nichols sat next to each other while Piper slid into a booth with Lorna across the table from the other two women. While Alex and Nichols spoke Piper looked at Lorna as she studied the menu.   
“So, you and Nichols?” She asked.   
“What about us?” Lorna answered, not looking up from her menu.  
“Are you guys together?”   
“No.” Lorna set her menu down onto the table and folded her hands. “Why do you ask that?”   
“Oh well I was just-”   
“So! Piper!” Alex said, interrupting their conversation, much to Piper’s delight. “What do you think of the funeral home?”   
“Oh! It’s beautiful!” She answered honestly. “Truly, it is.”   
Alex smiled brightly, her eyes closing as she did.   
“That’s fantastic to hear.”   
“I love the paintings in the chapel. Your mother had that done?”   
“Yeah, before she passed, she hired a guy to do it. It was something she always wanted to do for the place.” Alex nodded, sipping her glass of red wine. At this point, Nichols and Lorna had strayed off into their own conversation.   
“Your mother passed? I’m so sorry to hear that.” Piper said, looking over Alex as she said it. Alex shrugged, setting down her glass.   
“That’s life, unfortunately. People die everyday.”   
“So did you....I’m sorry that’s not an appropriate question.” Piper shook her head.   
“You can ask, it’s okay.” Alex reassured her.   
“Did you have to embalm her?”   
“I couldn’t have even if she’d have wanted me to.” Alex shook her head, taking another drink of her wine. “Mom wanted a natural burial. So that’s what we did.”   
“Can I ask what that is?” Piper pressed.  
“We wrapped her in a white sheet and lowered her into the ground. Took turns shoveling dirt onto her.”   
“I’m sorry.” Piper couldn’t think of anything else to say.  
“Don’t be. Death happens to everyone, eventually.” Before Piper knew it, Alex had downed her glass of wine completely. She ordered another with her meal.   
“So...Tell me about you, Piper.” Alex asked, sticking her fork into a salad.   
“Well, I live with my fiance. I went to school for accounting.” She answered.  
“Then what are you doing picking up corpses?” Alex laughed.   
“I don’t know.” Piper smiled. “Looking for an adventure.”   
“Well you’re certain to find that.” Nichols replied, stealing a ravioli off of Lorna’s plate. Alex pressed on.

“And what does your fiance, uh..”   
“Larry.” Piper interjected.   
“And what does Larry think about your new endeavour?”   
Piper sipped her own glass of wine.   
“He thinks it’s gross. He really didn’t want me to take the job, honestly. He’s still kinda shitty about it.”   
“You haven’t even seen the worst of the worst yet. Wait until you come across a burn victim. Then we’ll see what’s gross.” Nichols said.   
“Or a baby. Those always ruin my day.” Lorna said sadly.   
“I still fucking hate organ donors. Ugh.” Alex said, taking a bite of her salad.   
“Really? You guys still have ones you can’t stand the sight of?” Piper chuckled.   
“Oh for sure.” Lorna answered. “There’s just some things you see in this job that stick with you. I mean, my first day, I unzipped a body bag to help Nicky get a guy on a table. He’d blown his brain out with a shotgun. He only had one eye left and the other side of his head looked like a flattened basketball. Fucked up my sleep schedule for weeks.”   
“Jesus.” Piper shook her head.   
“My first burn victim was a woman who’d committed suicide via car crash. Burned so bad she was nothing but hips and legs. Her top half was burned so horribly she twisted into herself. They had to identify her by a tattoo on her foot.” Nichols said, sipping her beer.   
“What about you, Alex?” Piper asked. Alex thought for a moment.   
“Okay, I’ve got one. Back in the early 2000’s, this guy told his kids he wanted to build a fort with them. So he got this big cardboard box and had both of them jump inside of it, all excited and everything. And then he took a claw hammer and just beat them to death through the cardboard box. Mom showed up on the scene and at this point I was helping her pick up the bodies in the summer while school was out. There was blood everywhere. The guy who did it was gonna kill himself but he pussied out and called the police on himself instead. Wasn’t the coolest thing ever to see as a fifteen year old.”   
“Wait. She took you to a scene like that when you were just fifteen?” Piper asked.   
“I was born into the funeral business. I used to nap in the caskets when my mom worked late. Trust me, it wasn’t the worst thing that I could’ve seen.” Alex laughed.   
“I think the grossest thing I’ve seen so far is that guy we picked up today, honestly.” Piper shrugged.   
“Yeah, wait on it kid.” Nichols finished off her beer. 

On the walk back to the funeral home, Alex and Piper walked behind Lorna and Nichols. Piper struggled to keep up next to Alex who took big strides. Her pinstripe pants flowing in the breeze. She wore black sunglasses, hiding her lioness like eyes from the world. Piper kept catching herself having to tear her gaze away from her boss to avoid walking into a street sign or passerby.   
“Piper, listen.” Alex said, facing her as they walked. “Don’t let your fiance ruin this opportunity for you.”   
“What do you mean?” Piper asked.   
“Just, don’t let him convince you it’s too weird or too grim for you. I’ve had plenty of girlfriends who lost interest simply because of what I do and because they find it too mortifying or sad. It’s just another job and the traumatizing ones honestly are slightly rare nowadays. If you’re actually passionate about this, stick with it. I’ve seen way too many removal technicians leave here after only a month on the job because they let the job get to them.” Alex said sincerely.   
Piper nodded, smiling.   
“Don’t worry, boss. I plan on sticking around.”

_

“His skin...fell off?”   
“Right in my hands Polly.” Piper nodded with a smirk on her face. She, Larry, Polly, and Pete sat on the balcony of Larry and Piper’s apartment. Larry and Pete were at the grill talking about whatever football game had aired earlier in the day. Polly sat across from Piper, her noticeably pregnant stomach sticking out under her maternity tank top.   
“Oh my god, that’s disgusting. Did you throw up?”  
“Nope.” Piper took a bite of her shishkebab.   
“And the thought of that, doesn’t make you repulsed to eat?” Polly asked in disgust.   
“It did a little at first but, it’s really not as bad as you’d think. I enjoy it.” She shrugged.   
Polly repositioned herself in her chair and set her hands on her belly, looking over at the two men standing near the grill.   
“How’s Larry feeling about it?”   
“He doesn’t wanna hear about any of it.” Piper shook her head. “He says it’s all disgusting and then tells me I have to shower before he’ll kiss me after I get off work. I mean, I still make him kiss me anyways.” Piper retired her shishkebab back to her plate and sipped her beer. “He’ll get over it.” She shrugged.   
“How about the coworkers? They cool?” Polly asked.   
“They’re pretty cool for the most part, besides locking me in a cooler full of dead bodies.”   
“What?!” Polly exclaimed.   
“It was an accident.” Piper held her hands up. “Nichols accidentally shut me in there so she could talk to her girlfriend.”   
“Girlfriend?” Polly leaned closer.  
“Well they’re not together, I guess. But, they sure do act like they are. They’re always sneaking off to talk to each other or flirting in the prep room. I mean, Nichols is for sure a lesbian. I think my boss is too. Or a bisexual? I don’t know.” Piper said.   
“Maybe that’s why no men work there. The owner is a lesbian so she only hires women?” Polly suggested.   
“I feel like that’s homophobic to say.” Piper squinted her eyes at Polly.   
“Oh relax. You’re bisexual, if I was homophobic I wouldn’t be best friends with you.”   
Piper swatted Polly’s knee.   
“Shhh. Larry doesn’t know about that.”   
“Oh right.” Polly rolled her eyes. “So this lesbian boss? That’s Vause of Vause Funerals?”   
“Yes. Her name is Alex Vause.” Piper nodded, reminiscing on the tall woman and the way her waist had looked in those pinstripe pants.   
“She’s the owner? How old is she?” Polly pressed.   
“Thirty something...maybe? I actually don’t know. She inherited the funeral home from her mother after she died.”   
“Well, how mysterious.”   
“I know!” Piper exclaimed. “She told me that her mom was taking her to murder scenes and letting her sleep in caskets by the age of fifteen.”   
“Ew, Piper.” Polly struggled to stand up out of her chair. “Don’t get the hots for your weird goth lesbian boss.”   
“It’s not like that.” Piper blushed, jumping up to help Polly.   
“Relax honey.” Pete and Larry approached the women, plates in hand.   
“I have to pee.” Polly said sternly. Pete gave Larry and Piper a look before grabbing a hold of Polly’s hand and leading her back inside the apartment towards the restroom.   
“So what’re you girls talking about over here?” Larry sat, immediately biting into his shishkebab.   
“Just work.” Piper smiled, resting her hand on his knee.   
“Gross.” Larry said. “Anything else?”   
“Just my coworkers. My boss.” Piper shrugged, looking away.   
“Is he nice? Is he the owner of the funeral home?” Larry asked.   
“Well she is nice. She’s also the owner, yes.”   
“Ah, so it’s an old lady then?” He pressed innocently.   
“Yeah.” Piper nodded. “I guess so.”   
She didn’t know why she hadn’t corrected him. It just felt safer to say Alex was in fact a harmless old woman rather than an incredibly attractive older woman.   
“Everyone is being nice to you though? Besides the cooler fiasco?” Larry asked. Piper remembered the look on his face when she had told him about the cooler locking shut with her inside of it. He seemed petrified yet sad.   
“Pipes, that’s horrible.” He had said. She didn’t go into detail about the puddle of unknown fluid she’d slipped in or the fact that her boss had saved her. She told him she’d broken out of it in a much shorter time than she truly had and that she’d done it all on her own. It wasn’t a major lie. But, it was still a lie. Piper had always done that when it came to Larry. Lying about very small things that didn’t matter. Or at least, didn’t matter to her. No, she wasn’t looking at that guy who was running down their street she was spacing out. No, she’d only spent a hundred dollars while shopping, not three hundred. Yes, she would consider taking the job at his father’s law office, not completely write it off immediately. Small things to please him or save his feelings. She quickly realized in her relationship with Larry that things were much easier this way.   
Pete and Polly returned. She knew whatever secret she shared with Polly would never circle back around to Larry. Besides, she had more things to worry about in life at this moment than Piper’s small crush on her boss. 

_  
Over her weekend away from work, Piper found herself conflicted on her feelings about her new job. She couldn’t deny she loved the look on people’s faces when she told them about her official job description. She loved answering questions about it. But, when she closed her eyes at night to sleep, the image of the man who’d died in his recliner flashed over the backs of her eyelids. His purple face. His deteriorated lips. The sound of the gurgling. She’d have to scoot herself closer to Larry in bed, despite her hatred of being held when she’s trying to sleep.   
It wasn’t traumatizing. It was an everyday occurrence for Lorna, Alex, and Nichols. It was just another body in the cooler, and Piper knew that. She just couldn’t shake the memory of him. She’d never bothered to learn his name. Never bothered to find out if he’d had any family who were missing and grieving him. She’d simply bagged him and patted herself on the back for having the willpower to keep pulling even when she’d plunged her fingers into his rotting leg tissue.   
She rolled over in bed. Larry was snoring away, the way he always did. Piper had found it cute when they’d first started dating but now, it was a nightly annoyance.  
Piper stared up at the ceiling, listening to Larry snore. She tried to focus on the sound of the air conditioning unit in their bedroom window to drown him out. She closed her eyes. The man. She opened them again. She tried so hard to push her mind to something else. Larry’s snoring was reminding her of the gurgling sound the man had made when they began pulling on him. She couldn’t take it.   
She grabbed her pillow and headed to the living room, planting herself on the couch. She turned on the tv for some background noise before lying down to attempt to fall asleep again. Piper truly fought the images of the man this time. She imagined counting sheep but the sheep would just turn purple and bloated and pop into disgusting pools of fluid as they landed on the grass they were supposed to be hopping on.   
“Ugh!” She rubbed her hands over her face. She checked her phone. Two in the morning. She had to be up in four hours for another day of work. She set her phone down, took a deep breath, and pulled her blanket up to her chin.   
Gurgling stomach acid...No. Skin slipping off his ankles...No. Nichols. Nichols’ hair. Lorna and her red lipstick. Red’s glasses. Alex...Alex.  
She’d found the thought that stuck.   
Alex’s eyes, meeting mine. The way her hair looked when it was pushed back away from her face. The way her arm muscles stiffened under the sleeves of her dress shirt when she opened the heavy cooler door. Her rose tattoo.   
Piper began to feel the familiar heat rising in her core.   
Her voice. The way it sounds when she tells me to do something. She thinks I have potential.   
She took a deep breath, imagining Alex becoming angry with her for failing a task she’d asked her to do. What does Alex’s voice sound like when she yells? Does she clench her jaw? Does she ball her fists at her side and say things sternly?   
Without much thought, Piper snaked her hand to her lower stomach, playing with the lining of her spandex shorts. This was not a good idea. This was not a pedestal she wanted to place Alex on. She did not want to associate this level of sexual attraction to her boss. Yet, here she was, sliding her hand into the front of her shorts. She carefully dipped her fingers into the familiar wet feeling between her legs. Piper was much more excited than she’d anticipated. Her fingers slipped inside herself easily. She let out a sigh, continuing her mental fantasy of the tall dark woman.   
“Piper, didn’t I ask you to get this done before noon?” Alex asked, her voice edging on passive aggressive.   
“Yes, I’m sorry. I just didn’t have time.” Piper apologized, looking up at her green eyes.   
“You’re sorry? I guess that just fixes everything.” Alex huffed, throwing a clipboard down onto her desk loudly. Piper flinched at the sound.   
“Well...how can I fix it?” The blonde asked, rising slowly from her chair. Alex looked down on her, her hands resting on the desk behind her as she leaned back. Her long legs crossed at the ankles in her perfectly fitted pinstripe pants that Piper loved so much.   
“How can you fix it?” Alex chuckled, pushing her raven hair back. Piper inched closer, raising her hands to unbutton the top button on Alex’s shirt.   
Piper circled her fingers around her clit, fastening the pace as she continued her fantasy. Her breathing quickened and she could feel the muscles in her upper thighs tightening like a cable being stretched to its limit.   
Piper unbuttoned the top three fastenings of Alex’s shirt and began kissing her neck. Alex buried her hand in Piper’s hair, keeping her stance against the desk.   
“You think that’s gonna fix it? Really Piper?” She asked, grabbing a fistful of Piper’s hair and jerking her head back. Alex pulled the smaller woman into her, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her deeply. Their tongues danced as Piper desperately grinded her hips against Alex’s. Alex spun Piper around, bending her over the desk. Piper arched her back, feeling Alex lay over the top of her. Alex’s lips met Piper’s ear.   
“I’ll tell you what’ll fix this.” She barked. “If you take this like the good girl I know you can be.”   
Piper whined and set her hand on the edge of Alex’s jaw as she felt her skirt being pulled down roughly from around her waist.   
The feeling in her core was beginning to rise. The heat building in her stomach, her fingers working faster and faster. She was beginning to writhe on the sofa, her free hand grabbing the back of the arm rest. Her forehead began to bead with sweat and her wrist was beginning to cramp but she wasn’t going to stop.   
Alex’s long fingers plunged inside of her. Her fingers curling in a quick pace. Piper rocked her hips against Alex’s hand.   
“See? I knew you could be a good girl.” Alex laughed. Piper let out a choked moan as Alex’s hand wrapped around her throat. She could feel the other woman’s hips matching her rocking movement. Alex was grinding her hips against Piper’s backside, her height making them fit perfectly against each other like two puzzle pieces.   
“I’m always good for you.” Piper said, fastening the movement of her hips. Alex moaned, bringing Piper even closer to her climax.   
“Don’t stop baby.” Alex demanded, her voice cracking from its normally husky and cool demeanor to an almost pleading whine.   
Piper could feel her climax rising. Her hips lifted off the couch and her teeth dug into her bottom lip. Her thighs began to shake.   
“Come for me.” Alex demanded.   
Piper’s breath hitched in her throat.   
“I want you to come for me Piper.”   
Piper fought the choked moan that escaped her lips as she climaxed, feeling the warmth pool between her legs. She panted, throwing her free arm across her eyes and swallowing hard as she retracted her now exhausted limb from beneath the lining of her shorts. In her fog, her body slumped weakly. Piper couldn’t have formed an intelligent thought in that moment if she’d tried. 

_

Before Piper knew it, Larry was shaking her awake.   
“Pipes, wake up.” He said quietly, handing her a mug of coffee. “What are you doing out here?”   
“You were snoring again.” She said sleepily, blowing the steam away from her coffee.   
“Sorry babe.” He sat next to her on the couch, kissing her cheek.   
“Wait!” She shouted, desperately patting around on the couch for her phone. “What time is it?” She asked.   
“Seven why?” Larry said innocently.   
“I’m late for work!” She jumped from the couch, set her mug on the coffee table, and hurriedly ran to the restroom to begin her morning routine.   
“I thought you didn’t go back until tomorrow?!” Larry shouted from the couch.   
“No Larry!” She shouted back, jumping into a pair of tights and a skirt. “Did my alarm not go off?!”   
“I guess not, babe!” Larry followed her into the bedroom. She was hastily applying mascara in the vanity mirror.   
“I mean you’re already late. Why don’t you just stay home today?” He asked.   
“It’s my second week there. Are you serious Larry? You know I can’t do that.” Piper slipped into a pair of heels.   
“Just stay home with me today babe.” He pleaded, sitting on the bed, and reaching for Piper’s waist.   
“Larry.” Piper stood up straight and looked down at him. “I cannot do this with you right now.” She headed towards the kitchen to grab her purse and keys.   
“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this. I’ve told you so many times that you don’t need this job. You don’t have to work at all, Piper.” He crossed his arms.   
“I’ve told you. So. Many. Times.” Piper said angrily. “I want to work. I do not want to be your stay at home wife who cleans the house all day, pops out six of your kids, and has dinner waiting on you when you get home from work.” She unlocked her phone, quickly scrolling through her notifications as she headed towards the front door.   
“That’s not what I mean Piper.” Larry followed after her. “It seems like you’re forgetting the conversation we had when we got engaged.”   
“Did you disable my alarm?” Piper asked, looking at her phone.   
Larry fell silent. He looked away. Piper pointed her finger at him and opened her mouth to say something before deciding against it.  
“We will talk about this when I get home.” Piper said angrily before storming out the front door. 

She hailed a taxi to the funeral home. Usually, she was able to walk to her destination but because of Larry’s attempt at sabotage, Piper was in a rush. She hurried through the front door of the funeral home, finding the lobby chock full of people dressed in black. She immediately straightened herself and gave a shy wave to the people in her immediate area. Alex came walking at a quick pace from the chapel, gesturing towards Piper.   
Piper was hit with a wave of flashbacks to her fantasy of Alex bending her over a desk. She managed to hide the blush spreading across her face as she closed the distance between her and her boss.   
“Sorry I’m late, Alex, I slept through my alarm.” She apologized.   
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re here.” Alex said. Piper couldn’t help but smile.   
“My funeral attendant decided to fuck off for her shift so we’re down a person.” Alex said quietly, smiling and nodding her head to an elderly couple.   
“Funeral attendant?” Piper asked. The two walked into the chapel, Alex shutting the doors behind them. It was just them in the large room filled with folding chairs and a casket containing the body of an elderly woman.   
“It’s a part time job. They help with the funerals, greet families and stuff. I’ve been going through an outside company to get people so I wouldn’t have to hire people just to stand and monitor funerals but apparently that’s what I’ll have to do thanks to this bullshit company.” Alex sighed and removed her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose.   
“Well what do I have to do?” Piper asked.   
“Stand at the edge of the funeral. Direct people to the restrooms if they need it, hand out tissues, tell them you’re sorry for their loss.” Alex crossed her arms. “It’s really nothing. If you could just do this for me today.”   
“I mean, I could just be the funeral attendant all the time.” Piper shrugged. “That way you wouldn’t have to go through an outside company and wouldn’t have to hire somebody else.” She suggested. Alex smiled and looked her up and down.   
“Really? If you did it’d take you up to full time hours.”   
“I could always use the extra cash.” Piper said, smiling.   
“And what about Larry?” Alex cocked one of her thin eyebrows high up on her forehead.   
“What about him?” Piper sounded a bit more tense than she had intended to.   
“Alright. Let’s do it then.”   
Alex opened the chapel doors and allowed the large crowd of mourners to flow in. Piper had only attended one funeral in her life. It felt strange to watch a funeral for someone she had absolutely no connection to. Everyone was crying and sniffling, the small children in the crowd were understandably confused. She watched as one by one they slowly approached the casket to say goodbye to their loved one. The preacher gave a eulogy before going into a few gospel songs that Piper wasn’t familiar with. She spotted Alex across the room, mouthing along with the words as the crowd sang. Once the funeral was finished, the crowd migrated into the reception area. Alex and Piper followed, standing near the doors.   
Piper was surprised to see the family members laughing and smiling as they mingled in the reception area.   
“I thought funerals were supposed to be sad?” She whispered to Alex who smiled.   
“Death is different for everybody. Sometimes people are angry, sometimes people are happy, sometimes people are insanely relieved. It’s fun to watch.” Alex answered.   
An elderly man sitting at a table near Alex spoke loudly to another man at his side.   
“All I’m saying, Vern, is that this place has really gone down hill.” He said, stabbing his fork into a meatball. “I mean, it’s alright and all but when Diane was running this funeral home, that’s when this place had dignity. You saw the amount of makeup they caked onto Aunt Eva in there. She looks horrible.” He said in disgust. Piper looked over to Alex who’d hung her head. She was smirking and nodding her head as she listened.   
“The Vause family used to mean something around here, ya know.” He continued. “But that Vause daughter of Diane’s...she’s better off to cut her losses and run for the hills.” He laughed.   
“Bill! Shut up! She’s right there.” A woman across the table from him snapped. The man turned to the side to meet eyes with Alex. Alex simply smiled and approached him.   
“I hope the service was up to par. I’m sorry for your loss. If you’ll excuse me, I have some things to attend to. My colleague Piper will be happy to help you if you need anything else.” Alex patted the man on the shoulder and exited back through the chapel. The man went back to his meatballs, unbothered.   
Piper continued standing near the door for the remainder of the time until Tasha led the family from the reception hall to the parking lot outside to begin the procession to the cemetery down the street.   
Once Piper was in the clear she walked back through the chapel to the lobby where Red sat behind her desk.   
“Did you see where Alex went?” She asked.   
“Her office.” Red replied lazily, not looking up from her book.   
Piper climbed the stairs to Alex’s shut office door. She knocked gingerly before opening it. Alex was in her desk chair, resting her head on her hand and staring at a blank computer screen.   
“Hey.” Piper closed the door behind her and sat in the chair facing Alex.   
“Hey.” Alex replied, taking a deep breath in. Her eyes were red as if she may have been crying.   
“The family left.” Piper said.   
“Well thank god for that.” Alex chuckled, sniffling.   
“Tissue?” Piper offered, holding the box of tissues she’d been given to hand out to mourning family members during the service.   
“No, thanks. Alex laughed and swatted the box away.   
“Listen, what that guy said is bullshit. He’s just one of those gross old men that think they know everything.”   
“No, he’s right.” Alex said, much to Piper’s surprise. “This place was better when my mom was running it.” Alex picked up a framed picture off her desk and looked at it. She showed it to Piper. “That’s mom and I.”   
Piper looked closely at the photo. It was a visibly older photo that showed a woman who looked similarly to Alex next to a very small child who Piper assumed was Alex who couldn’t have been any older than three. They were standing in front of the entrance to the funeral home.  
“That’s the day she got the keys to the funeral home.” Alex smiled, reminiscing on the memory. “My great grandpa started this business. Then he gave it to his son, who died. Then it got passed on to his brother, who sold it. Then, my mom saved all her money and bought it back. She wasn’t even a licensed funeral director when she bought it. She just wanted back what had once belonged to the family.”   
“Wow.” Piper said in amazement.   
“Yeah. Then she went back to school, got her license, and made this place what it is. Or...was, I guess.” Alex said sadly.   
“I think it’s a great funeral home, Alex.” Piper said, setting her hand on Alex’s arm. She took it away once she realized what she was doing.   
“Thanks, Piper.” Alex set the photo down. “Diane really did have this place at it’s best. We were still running cremations then. Doing a thousand removals a year. We were fuckin’ busy man.”   
“Why’d you guys stop all of that?” Piper asked.   
“Other places popped up. Corporations that could do services and cremations for a lot cheaper. Places that could afford not to charge for certain things.” Alex shrugged. “Then, mom died and when staff found out I’d be taking over all of them walked out. Except for Nicky and Tasha.”   
“Why’d they walk out?” Piper pressed.   
“I uh...haven’t always been this well put together person you see before you.” Alex shrugged, waving it away. Piper was dying to learn more. She had to bite her tongue in order not to ask a question that may have offended Alex.   
“They at least stayed for the funeral though.” Alex chuckled, rolling her eyes. “As soon as that was over they all left and never looked back. Nicky got her shit together and jumped in to help me thank god. Tasha was already a director by then. It’s just been us since.” Alex looked at Piper.   
“What was up with you this morning? Overslept?” She asked, changing the subject.   
“Well, actually, my fiance turned off my alarm because he’s mad that I don’t wanna be a 1950’s housewife.” Piper said, shaking her head.   
“What?” Alex laughed.   
“It’s not as simple as it sounds.” Piper laughed.  
“What’s his issue with you working?” Alex asked, scrunching her eyebrows.   
“When we got engaged, he asked me to consider taking a break from looking for work. So we could maybe try to have a kid. At the time, I was so excited to be engaged and-”  
“At the time?” Alex interjected.   
“I mean, I’m still excited to be engaged.” Piper said, somewhat unconvincingly.   
“I love him. Very much.” She sighed. “He’s a Jewish lawyer. He wants a wife to give him children and allow him to be the breadwinner. His parents want grandkids. My parents want grandkids.”   
“Do you want kids?” Alex asked, looking Piper deep in the eyes.   
“Yes...no...maybe.” Piper made a face. “I’m twenty-five. I wanna drink margaritas and go to the beach. I want to travel. I want to see and do things.”   
“So that’s a no.” Alex smiled.   
“He never said anything about kids our whole relationship.” She sighed. “But he pops out a two carat ring on our vacation to Hawaii and I say yes and then all of sudden we’re planning what suburb we’ll move to after the wedding and good names for boys and the best schools in New York.” Piper set her head in her hands. “Now, it’s all his parents ever ask me about. It’s all anyone ever asks me about.”   
Alex reached across the desk and set her hand on Piper’s shoulder.   
“You don’t have to do any of that. Trust me.” She reassured her. “Don’t have kids when you don’t want them. That’s what Nicky’s mom did and now look at her.”   
“What?” Piper raised her head.   
“I’m just kidding. She’s my best friend, I can say that.” Alex laughed. “But no, seriously. Don’t let everyone around you push you into what society thinks you should be doing. If there’s anything this job has shown me, it's that death will find you. Whether it's in ten years or within the next thirty minutes. Trust me when I say, do whatever the fuck you want in this life. Cause once you’re laying in that casket with your corpse pumped full of embalming fluid it’ll be way too late to go back and do all the things you always wanted to do.”   
Piper found herself lost in the sincerity of Alex’s eyes. Her hand was still resting on Piper’s shoulder as she spoke. A moment in time passed where the two didn’t say a word to each other, only held eye contact.   
“You know…” Piper began.   
Alex’s office door swung open, interrupting their moment. Piper turned to see Nicky in the doorway. She was in her blue surgical gown, stained with an unidentified green substance down the front of it.   
“Hey, Vause.” She nodded, flicking a stray curl onto her forehead. “Lorna’s got one comin’ in from the morgue. I’m working on one already and Taystee’s gonna take it if you don’t get your ass down there.” Nichols said with a slight sense of urgency. Alex stood from behind her desk, stripping off her black blazer and tucking her navy blue dress shirt into her gray slacks. They weren’t pinstriped today, but they still fit her figure just as perfectly.   
“Pipes, you’ve got a removal with Lorna waiting on you anyways.” Nichols nodded to Piper.   
“Why didn’t you call my office?” Alex asked, slightly annoyed.   
“Eh, time got away from us.” Nichols laughed.   
“Don’t fuck around down there Nicky. I’ve already got Taystee on my ass about you two.”   
“Ah, relax, Vause. Taystee won’t say anything. Hey, Vause, why’d you have your shirt untucked?” Nicky laughed.   
“Shut up!” Alex punched her in the arm, laughing as she did.   
Nichols led the two to the prep room. Lorna was wheeling in a cot with a white body bag on top of it. Piper could see small streams of maroon blood rolling through the creases of the white plastic material of the bag. When Lorna parked the cot next to the prep table, she could hear the slosh of blood inside, moving around.   
Alex was tying her hair back into a high ponytail while Nicky went back to embalming the elderly man on her own table. Alex put on a white apron that was splattered with dried blood stains. Piper laughed.   
“What? The apron?” Alex asked.  
“Yes. You literally look like a butcher.” Piper said.   
“I don’t like wearing the gowns, they get in the way. Plus, Diane gave this to me. It’s what she used to wear.” She shrugged, unzipping the body bag. Inside the body bag was the body of a young man. Alex grabbed his arm and his left hip and pulled him roughly onto the metal embalming table. Piper had never seen any of the bodies that’d come from the city morgue before.   
“Woah.” She said, walking towards the table.   
The man couldn’t have been much older than Piper. His body was covered from head to toe in tattoos. His abdomen was cut in a Y shape going from the edges of his collar bones down to below his navel, nearly reaching his groin, slicing his intricate tattoos in half. Piper watched as Alex took a scalpel and cut the twine holding his flesh together. The flaps of skin were flayed open and inside his body was a red bag with the word BIOHAZARD strewn across it.   
“What the hell is that?” Piper asked in disgusted curiosity.   
“His organs.” Alex answered, carefully taking the bag and placing it on the prep room floor near her feet.   
Piper watched Alex cut the twine that held the flesh on the man’s head together. His scalp loosened, showing the inside of his empty skull. Piper felt the same way she had on her first day when she’d walked in and seen Nichols working on a body for the first time.   
“Hey! Piper!” Lorna called, snapping Piper out of her trance. “Let’s get goin’. That body ain’t gonna remove itself.”   
“Coming!” Piper said. “Shit I forgot my jacket. Lemme grab that and I’ll be back.”   
“Meet ya in the van.” Lorna replied.   
Piper hurried back to Alex’s office to grab her jacket off the back of the chair. When she entered Alex’s office, she found Poussey rummaging through one of the drawers.   
“Oh. Hi.” Piper said.   
“Hi.” Poussey closed the drawer and stood up straight.   
“What’re you uh...Whatcha doin’?” Piper asked.   
“Just looking for something. Taystee, sorry, Tasha, sent me in here. She needed a document.” Poussey said, shrugging her shoulders. “But, I’m not seeing it.”   
“Okay. I just wanted my jacket.” Piper slid her jacket off the back of the chair and turned to leave.   
“Hey, Piper.” Poussey said. Piper turned back around.   
“Nobody needs to know about this, right? I mean, technically Tasha is also one of the bosses. So it’s not like I’m doing anything wrong. It would just...sound like something it isn’t, you know?” Poussey rubbed the back of her neck.   
“Yeah, no.” Piper shook her head. “I wasn’t planning on telling anybody.”  
“Awesome.” Poussey smiled. “Knew I liked you for a reason.” Piper smiled back and made her way back down the staircase to the hallway. As she passed the prep room door, she caught a bit of Nicky and Alex’s conversation. They were whispering to each other.   
“You have got to get this shit tight, Nicky. Taystee came real fuckin’ close to driving that body to the airport last week because your guy was too fuckin’ drunk to take care of it.” Alex hissed.   
“You think I don’t know that? I took care of it. Drop it.” Nicky replied, a slight tone of hostility in her voice.   
“We need someone better than your guy, Nicky. If Taystee had been caught with that, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”   
“And you think I could? I’m working on it. If you’re that worried about it how about you do it.”   
“Yeah Nicky, because I can just leave-”   
“Hey!” Lorna called from the doorway leading into the garage. “You comin’ or not?” She asked in annoyance.   
“What? Oh. Yeah.” Piper answered, following Lorna into the van.


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter includes graphic description of drugs and drug use as well as negative speak about those who suffer from addiction so please proceed with caution

Piper sat silently in the passenger side of the van, looking out the window. The removal was an easy one. A man who’d fallen over and passed away on his kitchen floor. The removal itself should’ve only taken about half an hour but the man’s daughter had arrived at the house at the same time Piper and Lorna had. She was distraught and Piper and Lorna couldn’t do anything to help besides allow her to sob uncontrollably over her father’s body as he lay on the cot. By the time they’d managed to separate the woman from her father, hug her, apologize for her loss, and load the man into the van, it was nearly time for them to clock out. Lorna unhappily complained about it on the drive back.   
“I mean, I get that he’s your father, right? But, he was seventy eight! What’d she expect? Now I’m gonna miss my Zumba.”   
“Lorna…” Piper sighed.   
“I’m not trying to be a bitch, Piper.” Lorna held up her hand defensively. “I’m just sayin’ when my grandpa kicked the bucket, I understood you know why? Because people have things to do!”   
“Why did you start this job?” Piper asked.   
Lorna looked over at her, her black hair blowing off her face in the breeze of the AC. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders.   
“Nicky came over one night and told me all about how something happened at the funeral home she worked at, that the staff had left, and that they needed a makeup lady. I told her I wasn’t half bad at makeup and hair and next thing I know, I’m talkin’ to Vause and seein’ dead bodies everyday.”   
“How long were you in beauty school?” Piper continued.   
“Beauty school?” Lorna laughed. “Oh that was just somethin’ we told Taystee to keep her at bay.”   
Piper smiled and shook her head.   
“Seems like a lot of things go on that Taystee doesn’t know about.”   
“What do you mean?” Lorna asked.   
“Oh uh...nothing. I just...forget it.” Piper shook her head. “So, you and Nicky knew each other before this job?”   
“Yeah, we knew each other for sure.” Lorna giggled. “I met her at the bar. She’s quite the comedian, I’ll have you know.”   
“And how’d Nicky meet Alex?” Piper pressed.   
“High school. They dated for a while...crazy right?” Lorna turned the van into the parking lot of the funeral home.   
“So you said Nicky had told you about the staff leaving?” Piper asked curiously. “Why did everyone leave?”   
“Wouldn’t we both like to know.” Lorna backed the van into the garage. “I only know a little bit about it but, as far as I know, Nicky and Alex suffer from the same disease.”   
“What’s that?” Piper pushed, listening to the screech of the garage door closing.   
“Being a selfish junkie.” Lorna said casually, parking, and jumping out of the van.   
The two women unloaded the cot before rolling it into the hallway.   
“Hey, uh, Piper.” Lorna stopped. “You think you’d be able to handle this? If I leave now I think I could catch the last twenty minutes of Zumba.” She asked sheepishly. Piper nodded.   
“Yeah, I got it.”   
Lorna screeched with joy and wrapped her arms around Piper.   
“Thank you! You’re an absolute doll!”   
Lorna gave an excited clap of her hands before skipping off towards the lobby of the funeral home. Piper rolled the cot into the prep room, surprised to see Alex still at work at the prep table, this time on a different body. A young woman, no older than thirty. Alex was sewing up her chest, quickly and carefully pushing the large needle through her flesh like it was a hot knife through a block of butter.   
“What took you guys so long?” Alex asked, not looking up from the body.   
“The daughter was very uh...upset.” Piper opened the cooler door and placed the man inside, making sure not to follow behind him.   
“Hate when that happens.” Alex sighed and snapped off her blue latex gloves. She grabbed a white sheet off the steel countertop and draped it over the woman, covering her face.   
“What’re you doing here so late?” Piper asked, looking over Alex in her blood stained apron.   
“Coroner called and asked me to take care of this one before the day ended. I told Nicky to head out.” Alex sighed and took her hair down. Piper caught herself staring at the way her waves fell over her shoulders. Alex stripped off her apron and hung it on a hook on the wall. She tussled her hands through her thick hair, and took a deep breath in, looking to Piper.   
“So, you like margaritas huh?” 

Alex managed to convince Piper to join her at a local pub. It was a place Piper had never been to before but she was enjoying the scene. There were minimal people, the inside was brightly lit with neon signs hanging from every wall. Every inch of the brick walls were decorated with band posters and stickers. Alex was noticeably a regular as the bartender greeted her by name as the two entered.   
The two women took a seat at the bar, Alex ordering two margaritas, and covered the tab. All these things to look at, yet Piper found herself watching the way Alex winked when she thanked the bartender.   
“So, how’re you liking the job?” Alex asked, sipping her margarita.   
“I could do without the rotting, decomposing, fluid leaking bodies. Otherwise, it's fantastic.” Piper smiled and stirred her margarita with her straw.   
“Yeah. The decomps are...something.” Alex laughed. “Are they keeping you up at night yet?”   
“Yes!” Piper exclaimed. “Is that normal? I thought I was being a baby about it!”   
“It’s one hundred percent normal.” Alex nodded. “I’ve still got a few that haunt me.”   
“Sounds like me with exes.” Piper joked.   
“Oh yeah? Like who?” Alex pushed.   
“A uh....a girlfriend. A girlfriend from college.”   
“Girlfriend?!” Alex nudged Piper’s arm playfully.   
“What? Is it that surprising?” Piper asked. Alex shrugged her shoulders and cocked her eyebrow the way she always did.   
“I just...never took you for a woman who liked other women.”   
“There’s a lot more to me than what a lot of people take me as.” Piper flirted. She couldn’t tell if it was the red lights behind the bar counter or if it was Alex blushing that caused the pink hue to spread across her porcelain face.   
Piper’s phone began to vibrate, making her nearly gone margarita ripple in its glass. She picked it up, checking the screen. It was Larry.   
“Oh no-”   
“Answer it. I’m sure he’s wondering where you are.” Alex said, finishing off her margarita.   
“No.” Piper allowed it to ring. “I don’t really wanna talk to him right now.”   
“Two more. Add a couple shots of tequila too.” Alex signalled to the bartender.   
“You don’t play around, do you?” Piper laughed.   
“Only when it comes to the pleasurable things in life.” Alex slid a shot to Piper before picking up her own. “Ready?”   
“What should we toast to?” Piper asked, picking up the shot glass and holding it in front of her face, admiring the liquid inside of it.   
“Well,” Alex said. “Let’s see. You’ve started a new job. You’ve found some new friends. You’ve begun ignoring your fiance.”   
“To new beginnings then.” Piper smiled.   
“To new beginnings then, Piper.” Alex smiled back.   
The women clinked their glasses together before throwing their shots back respectively. Piper grimaced at the sting in her throat. Alex smacked her hand against the bar before taking a large gulp of her margarita. The girls exchanged conversation over two more margaritas and shots.  
“So.” Alex leaned on the bar. “This fiance.”   
“Larry.” Piper confirmed, smiling lazily and resting her chin on her hand.  
“What’s his issue?” Alex asked.   
“Just one of them or?” Piper snickered.   
“What’s...his main issue?”   
“He wants kids. I don’t know if I want kids. He wants me to stay home and take care of said kids. I don’t want to stay home and take care of these nonexistent kids. He says if I absolutely have to work, he wants me to work for his father’s law office where he knows where I am all the time. I would rather jump off of a bridge than spend my day with his condescending, sexist, judgemental father. He’s probably going to lose his mind when I tell him I took on full time working for you.” Piper sighed.   
“You don’t have to do that, Piper. I know you and Larry are fighting or whatever but you don’t have to be a full time employee if you don’t want to. I get it.” Alex suggested.   
“No.” Piper declined. “I’ve already decided. I mean, what else am I gonna do with all that extra time, anyways? Sit at home and watch HGTV all day? Cause, that’s all I do other than live to please Larry.” Piper remarked with more aggression in her voice than she’d intended.   
“Yeah.” Alex smirked. She set her hand in Piper’s lap. Piper was sure she’d meant it in a way of comfort, but it sure didn’t feel that way. “That’s no life to live.”   
Piper looked in Alex’s eyes. Her eyes looked different than they did when Piper had watched her embalm or joke with Nicky. Her eyelids were heavy and the light in her green orbs seemed to be piercing through Piper’s blue ones. Her thin eyebrows scrunched while her plump pink lips parted, showing clenched teeth. Her black rimmed glasses sat near the tip of her nose, her eyes looking over the brim of them.   
“No…” Piper found herself at a loss for words. “No, I suppose not.”   
“You think you’d wanna live that way forever?” Alex’s voice took on a huskier tone.   
“Maybe not.” Piper found herself snaking her hand to her lap where Alex’s rested. She brushed her fingertips over the back of Alex’s hand, feeling her cold flesh. “At least, not if I found something that offered me a better way of life.”   
Alex’s index finger lifted, feeling Piper’s two fingers curl around it. The two held eye contact, Piper holding her bottom lip between her teeth and tilting her head to the side, watching as Alex’s tilted with her, following her gaze slowly. Piper’s phone began to vibrate again, making both women flinch.   
Piper picked it up. Larry had called four times now and texted her six. She sighed and set it back down on the bar.   
“Is he gonna be mad?” Alex asked innocently, taking her hand away.   
“Do you like to dance?” Piper asked, changing the subject. Alex was visibly caught off guard by the question but she shrugged her shoulders in a relatively cute way, Piper thought.   
“I like to if I’m at a club.” She nodded.  
“What about if you’re in a pub with no dance floor and a few people watching?” Piper rose from her barstool, grabbing Alex’s hand and pulling her to the area of the bar next to the jukebox. Alex was smiling widely and looking around at the faces of the people sitting in booths around them.   
“How do you…” Alex started. She placed her hands in Piper’s. “How do you wanna dance?”   
“Just follow me.” Piper set Alex’s hands on her hips, setting her own on Alex’s shoulders. Alex ducked her head low and whispered in Piper’s ear.  
“I hate being watched.” She said.  
“That’s where you and I differ.” Piper replied, swaying her hips slowly to the mellow music radiating from the speakers of the jukebox. She felt Alex tighten her hold on her waist, pulling the blonde into her. Alex smelled like Chanel perfume. It was so much different than blueberry coffee.   
Piper slid her hands from Alex’s shoulders to the sides of her neck, feeling the warmth from her thick head of hair on the backs of her fingers. Alex was keeping up well enough with Piper as they swayed. She smiled down at her. Piper gently dug her nails into the back of Alex’s neck, looking between her eyes and her mouth. She couldn’t decide what she wanted to focus on. Piper could feel Alex’s thigh making its way between her own as they tightened their hold on each other.  
Alex managed to find a position between Piper’s legs in such a careful manner that anyone watching them wouldn’t have noticed. Piper involuntarily pushed her hips forward, feeling Alex’s warmth. The smaller of the two women took a sharp breath in. She couldn’t tell if it was her or Alex doing it, but they’d managed to pick up the tempo. Alex’s breathing had gotten deeper.   
If you take this like the good girl I know you can be.   
Piper thought back to her fantasy, taking in the predatory look in Alex’s eyes. The taller woman turned her head to see if anyone was looking at the two women as they danced. No one except an older man in the corner, sipping his beer and giving a grimy wink as he caught Alex’s eyes.   
Piper rested her hand on the side of Alex’s face and turned her head back to look in her eyes, bringing her attention back. She brushed her nails over the side of Alex’s cheek, setting her fingertips against her jawline.   
“You are so stunning.” Alex said quietly, her face inching closer to Piper’s. Piper was trying to keep a poker face, trying to hide the way that Alex’s movements were sending electric jolts through her lower body.   
“I could say the same about you.” Piper smiled, looking over the other woman’s flawless face. Her full, pink lips. The lines at the side of her mouth from her glowing smile. The way her eyelids were beginning to shut as she closed the space between them. Alex pressed her lips against Piper’s softly. Piper kissed her back, keeping her hand against her face. The kiss was sweet and sensual. Alex tasted like peach chapstick and lime flavored tequila. It escalated to a deeper, more passionate kiss that included Alex running her tongue over the blonde’s bottom lip before tangling it with hers. It felt like an eternity, but the kiss had only lasted mere moments.   
Piper broke away, stumbling back and into an empty table behind them. She held her hand to her lips, looking away from Alex.   
“I’ve gotta…” She stammered. “Larry is wondering where I am.” Piper said quickly before grabbing her phone and purse off the bar and hurrying outside.   
The cool night breeze hit her in the face, sobering her a bit.   
Piper managed to walk home in a timely manner, only tripping in her heels once or twice. She found her way into her apartment, struggling with the keys. Once inside, Piper was met with the sight of Larry, who was waiting for her at the kitchen table. There were two plates set with pasta that Piper recognized from her favorite Italian place. An unopened bottle of wine sat between the plates, Fiona Apple streaming through a small speaker on the countertop. This was Larry’s apology.  
“Larry…” She started.   
“Don’t bother with it, Piper. The food’s cold now anyways.” Larry said with a sad look on his face, his brown eyes staring off in the distance, not bothering to make eye contact with his drunken fiancé.   
“Al-“ Piper caught herself. “Nicky had a bad day at work and she asked me to come along and-“   
“I don’t wanna hear it Piper.” Larry stood, making his way to the bedroom. Piper followed close behind him, catching the door he’d meant to close to keep her out.   
“Pipes I said-“   
Piper caught his lips with hers mid sentence. She kissed him roughly as she walked forward, pushing him back onto the bed as she’d intended to. She only stopped to catch her breath, meeting eyes with him as she did. Larry met her gaze for only a moment before stripping off his shirt and hastily working at his belt buckle.   
“Hurry up.” Piper demanded. “I want it now.”   
She’d only managed to remove her shirt before she decided to remove her panties from beneath her skirt and mount the man beneath her. Larry had tried to switch positions to the point he was on top to no avail. Piper had such a tight hold on him that he was at her mercy. The blonde moved in a fast rhythm, raising herself up and down on Larry. He held on tight to her waist, trying his best to kiss her lips as she worked. Her nails scratched at the back of his neck and her fingers caught in his thick hair.   
You are so stunning.  
Alex’s voice rang through her ears. The feeling of her lips against hers. Her thigh grinding between her legs as they swayed. Piper whined, aggravated at the rising orgasm not coming fast enough. She could feel the muscles in Larry’s shoulders tightening as he braced for his own. Piper kissed him deeply, sinking her teeth into his bottom lip.   
That’s no life to live.   
Piper’s body shook as she finished, Larry letting out an excited cry as he did and jerking his hips upward into Piper.   
She climbed off of him and lay back on the bed, her muscles sore from the work she’d put in. Larry had lay speechless, still recovering from his orgasm. It was the first time in their relationship they’d ever climaxed at the same time. Larry wrapped his arm around her, breathing heavily. He kissed the back of her neck, brushing her hair away from her face. Piper turned to face him.   
“I’m sorry about everything.” She said softly.  
“I am too.” He replied. She set her hand against his face, looking deeply into his eyes.   
“What’s that?” Larry asked, placing his thumb on her bottom lip. “Is that a new lipstick?”   
Piper looked away, wiping the pink lipstick that belonged to Alex away from her mouth.   
“Yeah.” She answered. “Lorna wanted to try a new shade on somebody before she put it on a body.” She lied.  
“Lorna. That’s the lesbian one, right?” He chuckled.  
“Yeah, that one.” Piper smirked, burying her face into his chest.   
“What’d you have to drink? I haven’t seen you that excited in a long time.” Larry joked, kissing the top of her head.   
“Just uh...a margarita and a shot.” She lied again. “You know I love you, don’t you?” Piper asked, her voice muffled by Larry’s body. The feeling in the air suddenly felt very serious.  
“Yeah, of course Piper.” Larry wrapped his arms around her tighter.   
Piper curled herself into him, feeling guilty about the way she’d spoken about him to Alex. She wondered if Alex was still at the bar   
“I love you too.” Larry said sincerely. “That’s why I proposed to you, remember?” He smiled. Piper smiled back at him, looking over his face. He had smile lines, but for some reason she didn’t enjoy them as much as Alex’s. Within ten minutes, Larry fell into a deep slumber, snoring away. Piper followed suit soon after. 

“Vause you fuckin’ dog.” Nichols laughed, cracking open a beer. Alex had stumbled onto her doorstep nearly half an hour after Piper’s retreat from the pub. Alex was sprawled on the couch, her long legs hanging off the armrest. Nichols sat on the coffee table, looking over her friend.   
“I mean, I could tell you two had the hots for each other or whatever but, I thought you’d wait a month at least.” Nichols scoffed, handing Alex a beer of her own.   
“It wasn’t like that Nicky.” Alex sighed, receiving her beer eagerly. “We were just having a drink and things got...outta hand.”   
“So who kissed who then?” Nichols asked. Alex shrugged her shoulders, hesitating.   
“It was...mutual.” She said, avoiding eye contact.   
“Vause.” Nichols said sternly.   
“Okay, I kissed her.” Alex admitted. “But, I think she wanted me to.”   
“Oh my god man, this is the perfect fuckin’ situation to get accused of sexual harrassment. Do you fuckin’ hear yourself right now? The older boss took the twenty five year old new hire out, got her shitfaced drunk, and made a move on her. Only to say that she wanted it!” Nicky threw her hands in the air. Alex sat up quickly.   
“This is bad.” Alex set her beer on the coffee table, placing one of her pale hands over her mouth and beginning to tap her foot quickly.   
“Yeah, it’s really bad, Alex.” Nicky lit a cigarette.   
“Give me one of those.” Alex snatched it from Nicky’s hand. Nicky gave her a disapproving look before shaking her head and lighting another cigarette to replace the one Alex had taken.   
“Okay so, here’s what we’ll do.” Alex nodded taking a long drag off of the cigarette. “I’ll go up to her tomorrow and I’ll apologize. I’ll tell her it was just a drunken mistake. I’ll uh...I’ll raise her pay.”   
“Man if all we had to do to get a raise around here is makeout with you after you’ve had a few too many I’d be one rich mother fucker.” Nicky laughed.   
“Shut up Nicky, this is serious.” Alex’s voice sounded deeper as the smoke rolled from between her lips into the dimly lit living room of Nicky’s small apartment. The sound of the nearby street gave a constant noise that was both soothing yet annoying. City buses passing by with squealing brakes, homeless people below shouting at one another. Alex took a moment to listen to the ruckus as she continued to think over her options. Nicky sat next to her, sinking into the old couch. She wrapped her arm around the taller woman’s shoulders.   
“Look man,” She said. “relax. She’s probably as freaked as you are. Just go to work tomorrow, act cool. Don’t even say anything about it. If she asks, say you were too drunk to remember.”   
“I don’t know Nicky…”   
“Do you wanna avoid a fuckin’ lawsuit? If so, this is probably the best way to do it. Or else you’re gonna be Brooklyn’s lesbian Harvey Weinstein.” Nichols said chuckling.   
“That’s not funny.” Alex stood up, heading to the restroom.   
“I never said it was!” Nichols shouted after her.   
Alex closed the door behind her and looked into the bathroom mirror, running her hands down her face.  
At least, not if I found something that offered me a better way of life.  
Piper’s words rang through her mind. The way she looked in the lights of the pub flashed through her head. The way the younger woman’s fingernails felt in the back of her neck. She ran her fingertips over the same place Piper had touched. There were no marks yet she could still feel the ghosts of little crescent moon shaped indents in her flesh. The way Piper had tasted of tequila and sugar lip scrub. She thought of the way Piper’s body had felt against her own and the warmth she’d felt against her thigh as she pressed between the blonde’s legs. Oh god, she thought. This could mean so much trouble.   
Looking at her reflection, Alex could see the dark bags under her eyes that she usually hid so well with concealer. Her eyes looked empty.   
“Vause.” Nicky tapped at the door, opening it before Alex could respond. “You know what would make you feel better?” She asked. Alex cocked an eyebrow up, waiting on Nicky to answer her own question. “A line.”   
Nicky was right. That would make Alex feel better. She followed her big-haired friend to the bedroom where Nicky opened her nightstand drawer. Alex noticed three large cartons of cigarettes inside the drawer.   
“Jesus christ.” She laughed, picking one of them up. “What the fuck is this?”   
“Don’t fuckin’ judge me.” Nicky took it out of her hands. “They were on sale.” She swapped the carton of cigarettes for a cigar box sitting next to it. She opened it, pulling out a small glass vial filled with the cocaine they would be doing. She pulled a glass pane out of the box. It had once belonged to a picture frame which held a photo of Nicky and her childhood nanny. This, Nicky thought, was a more beneficial use for it. Nicky began cutting lines, using an old credit card that also resided inside the cigar box. Alex could feel anxiety building in her chest. She always felt this way before participating in any sort of drug use with Nicky. She trusted Nicky, very much, but with the work they did and how often they picked up dead twenty-something’s who’d overdosed, she could never escape the fear of being the next one to fall victim to a laced line. Nicky, however, was fearless with her drugs. She’d do just about anything from anyone. Of course, she’d test it when she had at home test kits on hand. Tonight, they were going in blind.   
“You want the honors?” Nicky asked, offering Alex the first line.   
“Uh…” Alex took a deep breath. “Yeah.”   
“You scared?” She asked, meeting Alex’s eyes. “It’s okay, I promise. I’d never give you anything I hadn’t tried first. You know that, right?”   
“Yeah, Nick, I know.” Alex nodded, carefully taking the glass pane from Nicky’s hands. Nicky retrieved a short straw from inside the cigar box and handed it to Alex gingerly.   
“I’ve got Addies in here too if you’d rather do that.” She offered.  
“It’s okay.” Alex nodded. She placed the straw at the edge of her nostril, sweeping her hair away from her face as not to disturb the other perfectly organized lines on the pane. In one swift motion, Alex threw away her fears and snorted the line clean off the glass. Within mere moments her throat was beginning to numb. Suddenly the fears and worries she’d had about overdosing were fading. The anxiety she felt about kissing Piper faded away too. Alex watched as Nicky did two lines of her own before the two were looking at each other, smiling.   
“See?” Nicky asked, licking her lips. “What’d I tell ya?”   
Alex already knew how the night would go. They’d start with one or two lines, discuss not doing anymore, then disregard everything they’d just said and pull an all-nighter doing blow and shooting the shit. They’d blare old punk rock records from their high school days and dance wildly in Nicky’s tiny living room. They’d sit on the fire escape and smoke cigarettes, looking over the city lights and waiting for the sun to rise the way they always did. They’d do one more line and part ways to get ready for work, running on no sleep. By the time Alex was emerging from Nicky’s apartment building, the vial of coke was all used up. She was saddened that they only had enough for one more line and Alex, being the good friend that she was, let Nicky have it.   
She pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes, hiding from the morning light. She hailed a cab back to her own apartment. She tipped the cabbie extra due to the fact that she smelled strongly of alcohol, cigarettes, and sweat.   
Alex’s apartment was much larger than Nicky’s. She had nicer furniture and a much more sophisticated look to her living space. She enjoyed their benders more when they were happening at Nicky’s. Nicky’s apartment gave her the feeling of nostalgia with the band posters and tapestries all over the walls. The various smoking pieces, the stacks of records, and old CD’s lying about made her feel as if she were back in her early twenties. This was no way for an established adult to live, she was aware of that. But, she didn’t care. Nicky didn’t either.   
Alex’s walls were painted white with various expensive paintings hanging about them. Photos of her and her mother were the only family photos she owned. On the fridge were photobooth strips of she, Lorna, and Nicky making goofy faces. That was about it for decor when it came to Alex’s home. Everything else was organized accordingly. Large anatomy books took up one bookshelf while dozens of journals took up another. Her desk in the corner included her laptop, organized pens and pencils, and sticky notes about work. Her home had never felt like home, moreso an office. That’s why she avoided it as much as possible.   
Alex stripped off her clothing, the same ones she’d worn to work the previous day, and headed to her closet. She chose her outfit for the day before climbing into the shower. She could feel her crash coming. If she hurried she could grab a coffee before she was meant to be at work and try to fight it away a little. Her nose began to run and her stomach was growling. Here it was.   
She hurried through her shower, not bothering to shave her legs because her hands were too shaky anyways. Alex pulled on her black dress, coupling it with a pair of black tights and heels. She didn’t bother to do anything special with her hair but she did slap on some eyeliner and a bit of concealer, for the under eye circles. With that, she was off.   
She arrived at the funeral home right on time, coffee in hand. Once she entered her office she was met by Tasha, holding a folder in her hands.   
“Hey man, morning.” She smiled.   
“Don’t hey man me.” Tasha crossed her arms, Poussey who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, stood behind her.   
“Okay…” Alex looked around, hoping to find Nicky or Lorna to see if they were witnessing the scene in front of her as well. “What’s up?”   
“I was hoping you could tell me that.” Tasha held the folder out to Alex. “I went over the inventory for the past six months and I noticed our finances were way off.”   
“Nicky is in charge of inventory.” Alex tossed the folder onto her desk, not bothering to look it over. She sunk into her desk chair. “Whatever issue you have, take it up with her.” She could feel herself becoming irritable. Poussey watching from behind Tasha’s shoulder like a child wasn’t helping either.   
“No, I will not take it up with Nicky. You know why? Because YOU are the General Manager here, Alex!” Tasha shouted, pointing her finger at the woman. “You need to explain to me how the hell we lost four thousand dollars in the last three months!”   
Alex straightened up, flipping open the folder. She looked over the charts. It was indeed apparent that a chunk of money was not accounted for.   
“Nicky probably just-”  
“She’s a fuckin’ junkie, man.” Poussey piped up.   
“Shut up!” Alex snapped. “Do not call her that.” Alex rose from her desk.   
“How do we know that’s not where the money went, Alex?” Tasha said, looking at her intently. “Four grand. Gone. All because you let your druggie friend take care of our inventory. How could you give her that responsibility Alex? I thought you were smarter than that. Do you know how much money that is?”   
“Taystee.” Alex sighed. “I will take care of it.”   
“You better. I want her gone and if she’s not fired by the end of this week, I’m going to the authorities and turning her in. Do you hear me?” She threatened.   
“Do not-” Alex slammed her fist onto her desk before taking a deep breath in. “Don’t, Taystee. Please.” She said calmly. “Let me talk to her. Let me see if it wasn’t just a mistake.”   
“Yeah,” Poussey scoffed. “Cause heroin addicts just lose four grand.”   
“P, go clean the garage.” Tasha said.   
“What?” Poussey asked in disbelief.   
“Go, man. Lemme talk to her in private.”   
“T, come on we were-”  
“Go! Please.” Tasha sighed. Poussey scoffed and shook her head.   
“Feelin’ bad for a fuckin’ junkie.” She said before exiting the office, slamming the door behind her in the process. Tasha sat in the chair across from Alex and looked at her closely.   
“Alex.” She started. “I know this girl is your friend.”   
“She’s my family, Taystee.” Alex interrupted.   
“She’s a thief. She’s putting this entire place at risk. The amount of money that’s missing could send us over the edge. You know how bad we’re struggling just to keep the lights on in this place. I don’t know how we’re going to pay anybody this month.” She scoffed.  
“I know that.” Alex said, agitated.   
“I know you wanna protect her but, I’m serious about what I said. She’s outta here by the end of the week, or she’s gonna be leavin’ here in handcuffs.” Tasha said quietly.   
“Alright.” Was all Alex could say.   
A soft knock came from the office door.   
“Come in.” Alex said in annoyance.   
Piper opened the door. She looked over the two women, feeling the tension in the air. She looked at Tasha first, who was rising from her chair to leave.  
“Sorry to interrupt-”   
“Don’t worry, I was just leaving.” Tasha smiled, passing by Piper before disappearing down the stairs. Piper was left alone with her boss. She looked at the woman, the rush of every bit of excitement she’d felt the previous night came back. Alex’s fist was clenched as she rested her head in her hand, looking down at her desk. Piper couldn’t see her face through the mass of black waves draping down into her eyes.   
“What’s up, Piper?” Alex asked, her voice sounding angry.   
“Is everything....is everything okay?” She asked nervously.   
“Yeah. It’s fine. What do you need?” Alex sighed and looked up, meeting eyes with Piper. They didn’t look how they had last night when they were dancing. They looked tired and slightly bloodshot. Piper didn’t like it.   
“The uh, Henderson funeral is starting soon. I didn’t know what to do. Nicky told me to get you.” Piper said, looking down at the floor.   
“Nicky’s here then? Great.” Alex rose from her chair and walked out the office door and towards the stairs, brushing past Piper. Piper couldn’t help but feel sad. She had feared coming to work this morning and interacting with her boss. She hadn’t told anyone about their kiss and had woken up a few times in the night, thinking about it. She feared Alex would shut her out, just as she was doing now.   
Piper followed behind her boss, down the stairs, to the lobby where a large crowd of mourners stood. They were noticeably quieter than the last group Piper had helped. Alex rushed through the crowd, hoping to get to the prep room door without being noticed. She was stopped by an elderly woman.   
“Oh, Alex!” The woman said happily. Alex stopped in her tracks, plastering on a fake smile and turning to face the woman. She was in a wheelchair with a young woman pushing her. Alex greeted the woman, holding her hand.   
“You’re so grown now!” The woman exclaimed. “Do you remember me? Your mother buried my husband and you buried my daughter!”   
“Of course I remember you, Mrs.Henderson.” Alex said sincerely. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”   
“Yeah well,” She sighed. “I love my grandson but, that’s what happens when you mess with drugs I suppose.” Alex only nodded.   
“Well, we have a beautiful service prepared for him. He’s at peace now.”   
“Aunt Joan, let’s go find a seat, okay?” The younger woman pushing the wheelchair said.   
“Oh! Okay.” She said, letting go of Alex’s hand.   
“I’m so sorry, she’s mentally declining.” The woman quietly apologized.  
“It’s really okay.” Alex chuckled.   
“I can hear you Anne-Marie!” The elderly woman shouted.   
“I’ll see you in there.” Alex said kindly as the two headed towards the chapel. Alex followed behind, deciding to wait until after the service to find Nicky.  
Piper was already waiting inside the chapel as Alex flowed in with the crowd. This service was for the tattoo’d man she’d seen inside the body bag. He was going to be flown to California shortly after the service to be buried alongside his mother, at least that’s what one of the funeral goers had told Piper.   
The service began relatively smoothly as everyone took their seats. It was noticeable how many empty seats remained inside the chapel. Most of the funeral goers were other young, tattoo’d men. None of them were crying but she could tell they were suffering. When the time came for visitors to say a few words about the decedent, the young woman wheeled the elderly lady to the podium. She lowered the microphone to her mouth and began her speech.   
“My grandson, Jacob, was a good boy. When his mother sent him to live with me he fixed everything around the house. He helped me cook, he always did the chores. I loved him like he was my own son. I watched him grow into such a handsome young-” She was interrupted by the chapel doors loudly swinging open. A young woman in a prom dress and fur coat strolled in, stomping in a pair of cheap heels. Everyone at the service turned to face her, watching her cause a scene.   
“You think you could keep me from seeing him you old bitch?!” She yelled at the woman at the mic, taking off one of her heels and throwing it at the elderly woman, only to miss and hit the casket with a loud THUNK.   
“Get her out of here!” The elderly woman yelled. Some of the men in the front row began to approach the woman, blocking her path. A few of them yelling profanities at her. Piper locked eyes with Alex who stood across the room, watching in disbelief. Piper headed towards the group, watching as the woman shoved and pushed against the men trying to escort her out.   
“You’re not gonna send my daughter’s father to California without letting me say goodbye!” She shouted angrily.   
“He’s not her father and you know it!” The elderly woman yelled back, nearly falling out of her wheelchair.   
“Ma’am can you please-” Piper began only to be hit with the woman’s other heel. Piper yelped and fell back, stumbling. She put a hand over her sore nose, feeling the warmth of blood beginning to drip. She was stunned but decided between fight or flight. She chose flight, running to the restroom.   
“Piper!” Alex yelled. She ran to the group of people who were now in a shoving and screaming match. The tall woman caught the intruder off guard and wrapped her long arms around the woman’s waist before lifting her off the ground.   
“One of you get the door! Now!” Alex demanded. The men looked at her in disbelief before one of them sprinted to the chapel door, holding it open for Alex as she kept a tight hold on the woman who was squirming and fighting violently to escape her grasp.   
“Call the police, Anne-Marie!” The elderly woman cried.   
Alex managed to get the woman out the front door with minimal scratches from her long acrylic nails.   
“I think it’s about time we wrap this up, what do you say folks?” The pastor said, taking the microphone. A woman went into playing the piano, trying desperately to reel everyone back into the service. 

Piper was finally getting the bleeding to stop when Alex found her in the employee restroom upstairs near her office.  
“Hey.” Alex said gingerly. “I brought this for you.” She held out a ziplock bag filled with ice cubes.   
“Thanks.” Piper took it and pressed it against her sore face. The heel had caught her right on the bridge of her nose, causing a nasty gash.   
“Think I’ll need stitches?” She asked.   
“Nah.” Alex said, looking closely at the wound. “And if you do, I’ve got extra ligature in the prep room.” She joked. Piper shoved her shoulder.   
“You alright, kid?” Alex asked seriously.   
“Yeah, just embarrassed.”   
“Don’t be.” Alex waved it away. “The first time somebody decided to crash a funeral I jumped in to help and lost a chunk of my hair. I looked like one of those stray dogs with mange for like, a month.” Piper laughed, wincing at the pain in her nose. She pressed the ice to it, looking over Alex. She looked good in a dress. Hell, she looked good in anything.   
“Well, I uh, I’ve got some stuff I have to take care of so…” Alex opened the restroom door and went to leave before turning to face Piper again.   
“Look, about last night, I’m sorry if I did anything that made you uncomfortable. I drank too much and took stuff to a weird place and-”   
“I didn’t think it was weird.” Piper interjected. Alex didn’t say anything in reply. “Really. I didn’t.” Piper continued.   
“I just don’t want you to think I’m like...Harvey Weinstein or something.” Alex said shyly. Piper chuckled.   
“What? Why would I ever think that?”   
“Cause...I don’t know. It was stupid.” Alex shrugged. Piper wrapped her hand around Alex’s wrist. They held eye contact, Piper lowering the bag of ice. Alex closed the door and took a step closer to the shorter woman. Piper slowly slid her hand from her wrist to her hand. Alex’s fingers melted between Piper’s. Her hands were freezing.   
“Did you think it was weird?” Piper asked.   
“No.” Alex looked down at their embraced hands. “I wouldn’t have done it had I thought it’d be weird.”   
“Did you like it?” The blonde pressed.   
“I couldn’t…stop thinking about it, if that’s what you mean.” Alex smiled. Piper smiled back, adoring the little lines at the side of Alex’s mouth. She took her free hand and set it on the side of Alex’s face. Alex felt a chill run down her spine. Piper’s touch was ice cold, but she was sure that wasn’t why.   
“Yeah.” Piper was looking between the taller woman’s eyes and mouth again, the way she’d done less than 24 hours ago. “Me neither.”   
Alex found herself closing the distance again, she set her free hand on the sinktop at Piper’s side, kissing her deeply. Piper’s cold nose brushed against Alex’s. Piper broke her hold on Alex’s hand and set it against the other side of Alex’s face. Alex had both hands at Piper’s sides now, towering over her in her heels. She grabbed a hold of Piper’s waist and lifted her, setting her atop the sink’s edge. It felt as if they were doing a continuation of the previous night, if only they’d gotten to go farther. Piper buried a hand in Alex’s hair, pulling her as close as she could. Piper wrapped her legs around Alex’s waist, trying desperately to feel her. Alex sunk her teeth into Piper’s bottom lip before kissing her again, feeling Piper moan into her mouth quietly. Alex’s hand began to snake between Piper’s legs just as the restroom door swung open. The two broke away from each other quickly, Piper nearly injuring herself as she hopped off the sink and hastily pulled her skirt back down.   
Nicky was smiling wildly.   
“Woah, really, you two-” She was interrupted as Alex pounced on her like a wildcat. She grabbed Nicky by the throat and pinned her to the wall outside the restroom, Nicky’s body hit the wall with a sickening THUD.  
“Where the fuck is the money Nicky?!” Alex said loudly. Luckily, the lobby had cleared out of funeral goers. Piper stood in the doorway of the restroom, shocked at the way Alex had flipped seemingly at the drop of a hat.   
“What the fuck are you talkin’ about?!” Nicky choked out, her face beginning to redden.   
“Alex, stop!’ Piper shouted.   
“The four thousand dollars Nicky! What the fuck did you do with it?!” Alex tightened her grip, ignoring Piper.  
“I can’t tell you when you’re choking me you fuckin’ idiot!” Nicky wrapped her hands around Alex’s wrist, trying desperately to get away. Alex could see tears brimming in her friend’s eyes. She let go, Nicky took a deep breath in as she coughed and held a hand to her throat.   
“Are you fucking crazy?!” Nicky shouted, looking up at Alex. Alex stood with her arms crossed as she watched her friend collect herself.   
“Taystee is going to the cops, Nicky. You’re fucking done. You need to tell me what the fuck you did with it. Are you back on H? Is that what this is?”   
“No! God, no!” Nicky swallowed hard, the color returning to her face. “Why the fuck are you worrying about what the hell I’M doing when YOU’RE fucking the new hire in the bathroom?!”   
Piper stood in silence as Nicky shot her a look.   
“Because I didn’t steal four thousand dollars, Nicky.” Alex sneered.   
“I didn’t steal it, you moron. Even if I did, why the fuck are you choking me? You’re out of your goddamn mind, Vause.”   
“If you didn’t steal it, where the fuck is it?” Alex asked angrily. Piper cleared her throat and straightened out her skirt.   
“Do you two want me to uh, leave?” She asked.   
“Yes.”  
“No.” They answered in unison.   
“Leave, Piper.” Alex said.   
“No, I want a fuckin’ witness incase you try to kill me again.” Nicky crossed her arms across her chest.   
“My office.” Alex demanded.   
The three of them filed into Alex’s office, Nicky sitting in Alex’s desk chair.   
“I wasn’t going to kill you. You know that.” Alex shut and locked the door. “But I’m so fucking mad at you right now that I could.”   
Piper sat uncomfortably, watching the two women stare at each other in silence for a few moments. Nicky broke the quiet tension.   
“I didn’t steal the money, Vause.” She said quietly, running a hand through her mess of curls.  
“You need to be honest with me.” Alex said sternly.   
“I swear, on Diane’s grave, Alex.” Nicky was shaking. Piper could see tears welling in the woman’s eyes.   
“Then who did?”   
“Poussey.” Nicky shrugged. “She’s always had it out for me, you know that. Her and Taystee both.”  
“How am I supposed to prove that Nicky? You’re the only one, besides me, and Taystee, who knows the account numbers. You’re the only one who has access to my desk where I keep everything.”   
“Wait.” Piper interjected. “You keep all the account info in your desk?” She asked.   
“Yeah.” Alex said, turning back to Nicky.   
“I saw Poussey.” Piper continued. “She was in here the other day when I came up to grab my jacket. She was going through your desk.”   
“What? What do you mean?” Alex asked, stepping closer to Piper.   
“I came up here to grab my jacket and she was going through your desk drawers. She said Taystee sent her in here to grab a document or something. She told me not to tell you cause it would look bad, but looking back now I guess it was bad.”   
“Taystee wouldn’t have given Poussey permission to go through my office. How would she have gotten into my desk? Only Nicky and I have the keys to it.” Alex looked at Nicky.   
“You sent her to make copies of the building keys two weeks ago didn’t you? Did you give her the whole key ring?” Nicky asked, sitting up in her chair.   
“Yeah....yeah, I did. Fuck.” Alex sighed.   
“So Poussey took the money.” Piper nodded.   
“We still don’t have proof it was her.” Alex said. “The cops are gonna believe the ex-junkie in charge of inventory with complete access to the accounts stole it before they’ll believe a girl with no criminal background and zero access to the accounts stole it.”   
“But she is the one who stole it.” Nicky shrugged. “I mean, I don’t know what to do here.”   
“Me either, Nicky.” Alex shook her head. “Taystee said you’ve gotta be outta here by the end of the week or she’s going to the cops.”  
“Alex, it’s your funeral home. You can choose whether to press charges or not.” Piper said with urgency.  
“Taystee owns a stake in it. It’s 75/25. She owns a fourth of this place. Why do you think I put up with her shit?” Alex sat in the chair next to Piper. She removed her glasses and began to rub the bridge of her nose. That reminded Piper of the wound on her own nose. Explaining that to Larry would be a real trip. She’d almost completely forgotten the assault she’d endured in the current storm of drama she had managed to find herself in.  
“So, all we need is proof that Poussey took the files?” Piper asked.   
“Yeah.” Nicky agreed.   
“I have an idea.” The blonde said, looking between the two women.   
“Well.” Nicky sighed. “Lay it on us.”


	3. 3

The following few days went as normal as one would expect a normal week in the funeral home to go. There was an obvious tension between Alex and Tasha, while Nicky pretended nothing had ever happened. If Piper were asked, she would even say Nicky was nicer to Poussey than usual. Which is saying a lot in terms of Nicky. That girl would be nice to a serial killer. It’s just who she was. That’s why Piper had no problem believing that Nicky wasn’t the thief. She could tell how much Nicky loved Alex. Now, Alex, that was another story. They hadn’t touched each other again since their accidental rendezvous in the bathroom. They’d spoken but, only on surface level things.   
“Piper, you have a removal.”   
“Alex, you have a call on line one.”   
Nothing beyond that. Piper found herself somewhat saddened. She didn’t know why. She was engaged, for Christ’s sake. When she’d gone home after work the day that woman had thrown a heel at her, Larry dropped everything to take care of her. He wrapped her in his arms and ran her a warm bath. He’d poured her a glass of her favorite wine and rubbed her feet as they talked in bed. He’d even let her pick what they were going to be watching on Netflix that night. She knew she shouldn’t have kissed Alex sober. She should have left it at a drunken mistake. But...she didn’t want to. She wanted to know how it felt to have Alex touch her all over. She wanted to hear Alex’s moan when she climaxed. She wanted to see the look in Alex’s eyes when she teased her.   
Of course, she didn’t even know Alex. She didn’t know what Alex liked. They could have completely different political beliefs. She could be incredibly boring. Piper knew she wasn’t though. She could feel in her bones that Alex was something different than anything she’d ever encountered. She couldn’t tell you how. But she felt it. She felt it in every bone, every nerve, every inch of her body.   
They hadn’t talked much, but Piper had noticed Alex staring at her in the prep room. She could feel the tension between them when they were left alone. As far as she knew, no one but Nicky knew of their affair, if you could call it that. That made Piper want it even more.   
There were more important things at hand than Piper wanting Alex to pin her against a wall. Time was ticking away and they had only a small window of opportunity to execute their plan in order to save Nicky from losing her job and possibly going to prison for something she didn’t do. Today was the day everything would come together. Piper’s plan took place over the course of three days and it went as follows:   
Step one: Get access to Poussey’s phone.   
This step was rather difficult as Piper noticed Poussey was very attached to her cellphone. On top of this, they would need her fingerprint to unlock the cellphone. In order to do this, Lorna was needed. The three women had explained everything to her. Of course, Lorna was upset about the possible loss of Nicky and volunteered to help in any way possible.   
Oftentimes at the funeral home, family members of the deceased would ask for fingerprints of their loved ones to be taken so that they could create jewelry or keepsakes. Lorna used this to her advantage.   
“Hey, P.” Lorna called from across the prep room. “I got new ink for the fingerprints but I don’t wanna try it out on any of the bodies cause I’m scared it’ll stain. Will you do it?” She asked. Poussey looked up from her ICA.   
“Why can’t you do it man?” She asked.   
“I’ve got these long acrylics, you know how it goes.” She smiled. “Come on, please? I don’t want somebody comin’ in and seein’ their mother’s fingers bright blue cause we tried it and couldn’t wash it off.”   
“Fine.” Poussey sighed and finished her ICA before helping Lorna with her request. She offered her left thumb to test the ink. Lorna had watched Poussey very carefully only fifteen minutes earlier and she was 80% sure that she’d used her right thumb to unlock her phone.   
“Uh, other hand.” Lorna demanded.   
“Why?” Poussey asked.   
“Cause I don’t trust left handed people P. You know, they say lefties are goin’ straight to hell.”   
“Oh…kay?” Poussey said in confusion, giving Lorna her other hand. Lorna did the print on a piece of white cardstock.   
“Perfect!” She smiled. “Now lemme go show Nicky and see if she thinks it's good enough to use for the decedents. If you’ll excuse me!”   
Lorna rushed out of the prep room to the office across the hall. She quickly placed a piece of scotch tape over the thumbprint before gently peeling it off. The print carried over onto the tape clearly. Success. Step one was achieved.   
Step two: Distract Poussey long enough for Nicky to take her phone.   
This was easier than getting the fingerprint, but it was no simple task. In order to do this, Piper had to wait until an urgent removal call came in to steal Poussey away from the office, as well as get her to leave her phone unattended. It took two days but the call finally came. A 600 pound woman had died in her bed and the fire department was busy cutting a hole into the side of her house in order to get the body out. They requested the funeral home be as quick as possible in arriving on the scene. Perfect.   
“Poussey!” Piper yelled from the office. “We gotta hurry, there’s a house call and it’s pretty bad.” Poussey stood in the office doorway, her phone in hand.   
“Okay, lemme just grab my blazer and I’ll be ready.” She said.   
“Oh they want an ETA. Do you have your phone on you?” Piper asked. “I left mine at home by accident.”   
“Yeah, what’s the number?” Poussey asked.   
“Here, I can call them. If you could just get the car ready? You’re better at that stuff than me.” Piper smiled sheepishly.   
“Okay, I guess.” Poussey gave her an odd look. “Just, make sure you give it back in the car. Oh, and don’t look through my pictures.” She handed Piper her phone carefully.   
“No pictures, got it.” Piper smiled again.   
She made the call to the men on scene and then set the phone on the desk before heading towards the garage. As she passed the prep room she shot Nicky a wink. Nicky nodded in response. Piper climbed into the passenger seat of the car.   
“We’ve gotta go! They said she’s purging like crazy!”   
“Do you have my-” Poussey started.   
“Oh! I left it on the desk. I’m so ditzy.” Piper laughed.   
“I’m just gonna run in and grab it.” Poussey began unbuckling herself.  
“I told them we’d be there in ten minutes.” Piper said urgently.  
“Dude, it takes like twenty minutes to get there.” Poussey said in annoyance.  
“Really? I don’t know this area that well. Like I said, ditzy.”   
Poussey huffed and buckled herself back into the driver’s seat.   
“Fine, but we gotta be quick about this.” Poussey commented as they made their way out of the garage.   
Step two was complete.   
Step three: Gain photo proof of Poussey stealing the account numbers.  
Nicky gave a look to Alex before snapping off her gloves and heading to the office where she grabbed Poussey’s unattended cellphone. She kept the piece of tape hidden away on a shelf in the prep room in order to preserve it. Nicky grabbed it before heading towards Alex’s office. Lorna was in Tasha’s office, distracting her with a story about a program she’d watched on the ID channel about a man who murdered his pregnant wife. Nicky could hear her talking the other woman’s ear off as she passed the doorway of Tasha’s office. She let herself into Alex’s office before shutting and locking the door behind her. She used her key to get into the desk, opening the drawer that held the files Nicky needed access to. She found what she was looking for.   
Nicky set the piece of tape against the home button of Poussey’s phone. It wouldn’t read.   
“Try again? What the fuck?” Nicky whispered. She tried the tape again. Try Again it read. Nicky crumpled up the piece of tape and tossed it on the floor.   
“Fuck fuck fuck.” She chewed on her thumbnail as she stared at the fluorescent screen. She typed random combinations of numbers. Of course it wasn’t a regular four digit passcode but an eight digit passcode. 12345678. Nope. Try Again. 20202020. Nope. Try Again. 43211234. Nope. Locked out.   
“Try again in five minutes?” Nicky clenched her fist tightly. She pulled her own phone out of her pocket, hearing Lorna through the wall, droning on about something she’d read in a magazine. Tasha was too nice to tell her to buzz off.   
“When is P’s bday?”  
Nicky texted Lorna. She could hear the conversation pause through the wall.   
“Say, Taystee, is Poussey’s birthday coming up soon? What do you think I should get her?” Lorna asked sweetly.   
“P’s birthday ain’t for another six months.” Taystee replied.   
“Really?! My sister’s birthday is in December. What day is P’s?” She continued.   
“Uhh...December twentieth, I think.” She answered.   
“No way! So is my sister’s! How old is she gonna be?”   
“She’ll be twenty-nine. Ain’t that crazy? She still looks fifteen.” Taystee laughed.   
Nicky had to think for longer than she’d like to admit to figure out what year Poussey would’ve been born if she were turning twenty-nine on December 20th of 2020. She tried the passcode again. 12201991. Success.   
She had to keep herself from cheering as she scrolled through the phone’s contents. She made her way to the app store where she downloaded the specific app Piper had instructed her to. Quickly, she took photos of the account numbers, and a few other things that were considered confidential information, just for safe measures. Once the photos were taken, Nicky went to the newly downloaded app and used it to change the timestamps of the photos she’d just taken to three months ago, when the money had begun to go missing. Step three was a go.   
Nicky headed back down to the prep room where she returned the phone to its place on the desk with plenty of time to spare. She’d made sure to clean up her tracks, deleting the app from the home screen as well as recently downloaded in the app store. Nicky couldn’t help but feel as if she were a secret agent. Now, it was time for the final step.   
Step four: Confront Taystee and Poussey with the evidence.   
This step was all Alex. She waited until the end of the day when the removal techs were nearing the end of their shifts to call a meeting between her, Tasha, Poussey, Nicky, and Piper. They met in Alex’s office. It was a bit cramped with all of them inside the small room. Alex could see the anxiety on Nicky’s face as they sat, looking at each other.   
“Why’s she in here?” Tasha asked, motioning to Piper.   
“She’s essential to what I’m about to tell you.” Alex said in a tone of voice that Piper had never heard. It sounded professional. It reminded her of the way Larry sounded in the courtroom when he was really dominating a case. For some reason, she found Alex’s tone a bit sexier than Larry’s. The tone of voice on top of Alex wearing her pin striped pants almost sent Piper over the edge.  
“What are you about to tell me, Alex?” Tasha asked, crossing her arms.   
“I have good reason to believe Nicky isn’t the one who stole the money.” Alex folded her hands on her desk. She looked to the carpet where she saw the discarded bit of tape with Poussey’s thumb print on it. She placed her shoe over it, looking up to meet Tasha’s eyes.   
“So who do you think did it then? Lorna?” Poussey asked.   
“No, Poussey, in fact, I believe it was you.” Alex answered. Poussey’s eyes widened.   
“What?” She asked, looking to Tasha who seemed just as shocked as she was.   
“You’re being crazy.” Tasha said, shaking her head. “P doesn’t even know how to get into the bank accounts.”   
“Actually, she would know if she happened to break into my locked desk and rummage through my files. Piper caught her doing just that.” Alex looked over to Piper who was nervously looking at the ground.   
“What?” Tasha looked to Piper, then to Poussey who was beginning to squirm. “Piper, is that true?”   
“Yes, it is.” Piper nodded. “I came up here the other day to grab my blazer and I found her going through Alex’s desk.”   
“Poussey.” Tasha turned to face her friend. “Is that true?”   
Poussey hesitated to answer.   
“Poussey.” Tasha said in a sterner tone.   
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s true. It wasn’t like that though, T. You were sayin’ how you thought Nichols was stealing but you didn’t have any definite proof and you needed a certain paper so I-”   
“So you broke into her office and looked through her shit?!” Tasha shouted.   
“She told me you sent her in here to find something so I didn’t say anything.” Piper said. Poussey gave her an angry look.   
“Okay. So I went through the desk. I shouldn’t have and I own up to that but it was only because we knew Nichols was stealing shit. I just needed a paper showing the info of the finances so we could see exactly how much was missing. I did not steal anything. I don’t even know the codes to get into the accounts.” Poussey defended herself.   
“How do I know you didn’t write them down when you broke into my desk? Or take a picture with your phone? How do I know this was your first time breaking into my desk, Poussey?” Alex pressed.   
“You can check my fuckin’ phone man. I don’t have those codes.” Poussey said in a panic. Her voice was beginning to crack.   
“You’d let me check your phone then?” Alex asked.   
“Yeah. Here.” Poussey set her phone on Alex’s desk, unlocking it. She stood next to Alex, looking over her shoulder as she scrolled through her camera roll. She saw plenty of selfies, photos of Poussey’s dog, photos of her and Taystee in various snapchat filters. Then she found exactly what she knew she would. The photo stuck out from the rest as it showed bold, black numbers on a white background.   
“What’s this?” Alex asked, looking at Poussey. The smaller girl was crying.   
“No...That’s not.” Poussey started.   
“What is it?” Tasha asked, leaning over the desk to look at the phone screen. She silently looked at her friend, her eyes beginning to water.   
“P…” She said.   
“That’s not-I didn’t!” Poussey cried.   
“It’s right around when the money started coming up missing. Look at the time stamps.” Alex commented, setting the phone back down on the desk. Tasha looked at Poussey with disappointment.   
“Yeah. I guess it is.”   
“Piper, Nicky, can you two step out for a minute.” Alex asked, looking at the two women. They both nodded and left, stepping into the hallway. Nicky wrapped her arms around Piper in a tight hug.   
“You’re a fuckin’ genius man.” She whispered before letting go. The two went to the prep room where they found Lorna applying eyeshadow to a young woman’s eyelids.   
“So, how’d it go?” She asked, not looking up from her project.   
“Just as planned.” Nicky crossed the prep room and grabbed Lorna into her arms.   
“Nicky, quit, I’m busy.” Lorna smiled. Nicky set her hand on her chin and kissed her sweetly. Piper felt awkward watching the two.   
“Would you have missed me?” Nicky smiled.   
“You know I would’ve, you idiot.” Lorna giggled. Piper took the opportunity to exit the prep room and enter the office. She sat at the computer and tapped in her login info. She had been wondering about something for quite a while but had never found the opportunity to do her sleuthing. She looked back over her shoulder towards the prep room, making sure she was safe. She typed a name into the search bar of the computer: Diane Vause.   
The case file popped up. She clicked through the documents. It showed that Nicky had done the removal with a woman named Trisha. Nicky had also performed the ICA. Piper clicked on the upload link of the document, looking over a photo copied version of the original paper. The outline of the body appeared on the screen.   
Height: 5’ 10” Weight: 145 Elbow Width: 19”   
Discoloration corresponding to drug overdose is evident in decedent.   
Piper recognized Nicky’s handwriting. She’d finally found the answer to what she’d been wondering since the day Alex had told her about her mother’s passing. She exited out of the screen just in time for Poussey to come barreling down the hallway, her backpack in hand. She had her head down as she was headed for the backdoor. Piper watched her leave, feeling a slight tinge of guilt. Alex came through the hallway doors a moment later. She poked her head into the office.   
“Hey, could I talk to you upstairs?” She asked. Piper nodded. Great, she thought, she’s firing people and now I’m next cause I couldn’t keep it in my pants.  
Piper followed Alex to her office, feeling anxiety the entire way. Once they reached the doorway, Alex motioned towards the chair Piper had just been sitting in moments before.   
“Have a seat.” She said, in that same tone she’d used when she accused Poussey of stealing the money. Alex closed and locked the door.  
“Is this about-” Alex quickly dropped to her knees in front of the blonde woman. Piper met her eyes in surprise. Without warning, Alex ran her hands up Piper’s thighs, under her pencil skirt. Her touch was warm and it took nothing for the younger woman to spread her thighs. The way Alex looked as she peered up at her from between her legs was something Piper never wanted to forget. She pulled her tights down roughly, kissing trails up her inner thighs.  
“I wanted to thank you…” Alex said sensually. “for helping me take care of things.”   
“You don’t have to thank-” Piper’s breathing hitched in her throat as Alex’s lips met her clit. She could feel herself melting at the other woman’s touch. Her tongue stroked Piper’s clit softly. She licked slowly at first before fastening her pace. The blonde was at a loss for words. She whined, covering her mouth with one hand and using the other to bury in Alex’s hair. The woman’s grip tightened on her thighs, her fingertips pressing into her flesh. Piper rocked her hips against Alex’s face, feeling the soft caresses of her lips as she matched her pace. She was writhing in the chair, trying desperately to get herself as close to Alex’s mouth as possible. The older woman took the liberty of placing Piper’s legs on her shoulders and using one hand to insert at first one digit and then two into her. She audibly moaned at this, praying that Tasha wasn’t in her office on the other side of the thin wall. Alex’s fingers were moving in a way Piper had never experienced. How she already knew how to get Piper to her climax this fast was beyond her.   
“I didn’t think you liked me-” Piper squeaked. “anymore.”   
“Shut up.” Alex smiled up at her, her fingers still moving inside of the girl in front of her. She kissed her deeply, her mouth wet from Piper. She moaned into her mouth, tasting herself on the other woman’s lips. Her body was beginning to tighten. Her thighs began to shake involuntarily. Alex started smiling again.   
“You like that?” She asked. Piper’s face blushed. She was embarrassed that Alex had such a hold on her. She hid her face in Alex’s hair, feeling one of her toned arms wrap around her waist. Alex was holding her tight as she kept up the pace of her fingers. Piper seemed so small wrapped in the embrace of the taller woman. A wave of heat rushed through her body as her hips bucked forward into Alex’s hand. She dug her nails into the back of Alex’s neck. This time she was sure she’d be leaving marks.   
“That’s my girl.” Alex said into her ear, only fueling the fire of Piper’s orgasm. She was breathing heavy and the way she unlatched from Alex made her feel as if she were unboarding the world’s fastest rollercoaster. She sat back in the chair, pushing her hair back off her face and shaking at the knees. Alex rose from her knees, looking down at her. She had that stupid smirk on her face. The same one she wore when she’d tease Nicky about something.   
“We can’t.” Piper said. The high of her orgasm had worn off as she pulled her tights back up her legs, trying her hardest to ignore the wet spot on the chair beneath her.   
“We can’t what?” Alex asked, looking confused.   
“This, we can’t do this.” Piper was as surprised as Alex was that she was saying this. “It was one thing when we were drunk but, this isn’t something we can do. That I can do.”   
“Piper…” Alex leaned back against her desk.   
“I have a-”   
“A Larry. You have a Larry who you’re obviously not that into.”   
“I’m engaged to him, Alex.” Piper said, standing up. Alex towered over her. “It’s not right.”  
“You couldn’t have told me you felt that way before I ate your pussy?” Alex asked angrily. She crossed her arms across her chest and chuckled in disbelief.   
“Are you gonna fire me?” Piper asked.   
“No, I’m not gonna fuckin’ fire you.”   
“Alex, I really like you. It’s just, I’ve done this to Larry before. It’s why he’s the way he is about things with me. It almost destroyed us because I made a stupid mistake.”   
“It’s okay, Piper. You’re right. We can’t. I’m your boss and you’re engaged. I’m sorry.” Alex shrugged her shoulders, looking away. “Thank you for helping me with the whole Nicky situation.”   
“Thank you for understanding.” Piper said quietly before leaving Alex’s office, shutting the door behind her. She descended the stairs, meeting eyes with Red.   
“You’re not the only one she’s had in that office, Piper.” Red said, lowering her glasses.   
“What do you-”   
“You’re a smart young woman. Keep your nose out of places it doesn’t belong.” She remarked. Piper looked to the ground. She nodded in reply before sighing and heading to the hallway, through the door. She found Nicky and Lorna in the prep room doorway. Nicky had her arm around Lorna’s waist.   
“We’re going out tonight, Pipes, wanna come along?” Lorna asked.   
“No guys, not tonight.” Piper said sadly.   
“What’s the matter? You feelin’ bad ‘bout the whole Poussey thing?” Nicky asked.   
“Don’t feel bad about that, Piper, she’s a real bitch, honestly.” Lorna said, trying to comfort her.   
“No, Larry and I have dinner plans with his parents. Another night though.” She smiled. Piper waved goodbye and continued towards the backdoor, leaving her coworkers inside the funeral home.   
She wasn’t lying about the dinner plans with Larry’s parents. They’d left for Park Slope shortly after Piper arrived home. She took a quick shower and changed clothes at the request of Larry who claimed he could smell the scent of death on her, even though she’d had no removals that day. They arrived at Larry's parents house where they exchanged hugs and greetings before heading inside. Piper, admittedly, wasn’t a fan of her in laws. Although, she was very much a fan of their large home. She loved the archways and huge windows. She often sat near the window sills, looking over the fallen leaves on the back lawn as Larry spoke to his parents. She appreciated that Larry’s mom attempted to converse with her, and she was always kind, but their discussions were often short and shallow. She couldn’t relate to his family when it came to anything regarding law or football or horse races or anything else they indulged in. Too often, Piper was set on the back burner to smile and nod and give an occasional “Wow, that’s so fun.” in response to whatever it was they were talking about.   
She tried her best to socialize with Larry’s family. There was just...a rift. It felt as if Larry’s parents were on one side of said rift, Piper on the other, and Larry with one foot on each side of the rift, trying desperately to play a game of telephone between both sides. He really did try to incorporate Piper into his family’s lifestyle, and she appreciated that. It just often felt as if she were a book, too big to fit on an already crowded shelf.   
“So, Piper,” Larry’s mother, Susan, stabbed her fork into a brussel sprout. “How are you enjoying the new job?”   
Piper perked up. Larry had made her promise she wouldn’t go into the gruesome details of her new daily life.   
“I love it.” She nodded. Flashbacks of Alex’s face between her thighs hit her like a warm ocean wave. “It’s very interesting.”   
“Larry says you’re enjoying being a secretary. They don’t make you look at the bodies do they?” She asked.   
“No, they don’t.” Piper shook her head, looking over to Larry. Larry was suspiciously interested in his dinner plate. “I just answer the phones.”   
“That Vause Funeral home is one of the only locally owned homes left in Brooklyn.” His father remarked. “It’s surprising the doors are still open.”   
“Why do you say that?” Piper asked.   
“Well, with the lawsuit they had a few years ago, everybody expected them to go under.”   
“Lawsuit?” Piper set her fork down.   
“Larry didn’t tell you about it? I represented Diane Vause in that case.”   
“No.” Piper looked to her fiance. “Larry did not tell me about it. What was the lawsuit concerning?”   
“Oh, one of the staff was caught stealing the jewelry of a decedent out of the safe they keep there at the home.” He said casually. “Diane’s daughter, actually.”   
“Alex?” Piper asked in surprise.   
“That was her name.” He nodded. “She was just a kid at the time. It didn’t go over well though. It took awhile for anybody to want to go through them again. If I remember right, Diane was offering free cremations for a while just to get people to even consider her services again.”   
Piper felt a pit in her stomach beginning to grow. Larry looked to his father.   
“Alex Vause? That’s the one who did that?” He asked. “I thought she was an old lady.”   
“No, she can’t be any older than forty, son.”   
Larry gave Piper a look. She looked away, pretending to admire the large grand piano in the dining room.   
“Well, just be careful Piper.” His mother sipped her wine. “Don’t leave your purse lying around. That place is at the bottom of the barrel from the sounds of it.”   
“I will, Susan.” Piper smiled politely.   
Dinner had finished shortly after. Larry and his father had migrated to the den while Piper helped Susan with the dishes. In actuality, Piper was doing the dishes while Susan drank more wine.   
“Piper,” She said sweetly. “Have you and Larry figured out a date for the wedding yet? Winter is coming soon but a spring wedding could be lovely.”   
“We haven’t discussed it, actually.” Piper shrugged. “Larry’s been pretty busy with work.”   
“Well, you two have got to talk about these things. Larry’s a bit slow when it comes to making decisions. Sometimes he just needs an extra little nudge.” She playfully tapped Piper’s arm with her elbow, smiling as she did. “He’s a lot like his father in that way.” She sighed. “Not to mention, we’re looking forward to grandchildren. I’ve got the guest bedroom saved for our future little one.”   
Susan’s comment made Piper feel nauseous. She finished scrubbing the last dinner plate before drying her hands on a towel.   
“If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to use the restroom.”   
“I’ll pour you a wine, honey. I want to show you this beautiful wedding dress I saw on Pinterest.”   
“I’d love to see it.” Piper lied.   
She made her way to the restroom, trying to breathe deeply. She stood at the sink, her hands shaking as she looked at the white porcelain surrounding the perfectly polished faucet. There were no toothpaste stains on the mirror or stray hairs hanging about. Their hand towels were folded perfectly, telling her they were the kind to be seen, not used. That’s how she felt. Like a perfectly folded hand towel. She was supposed to sit back and do what she was apparently created to do. Marry Larry, have his kids, bring those kids to the in-laws on the weekends, and go on vacations with her lawyer husband. The sickness in her stomach was growing and her breathing wasn’t slowing down. She hugged herself. Larry. Susan. Alex. It was too much. She wanted to grab her phone and purse. Take off out the front door and hail a cab to Jersey. Fly to California and change her name. Move to Canada and pretend she never lived this life. Piper could feel stomach acid burning the back of her throat. She made it to the toilet before she vomited up her dinner. She tried her best to keep it quiet, holding her hair back from her face and lurching forward violently as she did.   
Piper had just flushed away her vomit as Larry knocked on the bathroom door.   
“Pipes?” He asked quietly. “You alright?”   
“Yeah.” She answered, wiping her mouth on one of those stupid hand towels. She climbed to her feet, opening the bathroom door. Larry looked at her with his doe eyes. “Just have cramps.” She smiled. Larry grabbed her hand gently.   
“Did my mom say something dumb? She’s drank a lot.”   
“No, baby.” She shook her head. “I’m okay.”   
“You sure?” He held her face, looking her over. The gash on her nose was finally fading. Piper looked into his eyes. She hadn’t noticed but Larry had aged since they first began their relationship only a few years earlier. She could see a stray gray hair in the curls of his hairline. She smiled and grabbed it, plucking it.   
“Ow!” He yelped.   
“Look,” She smiled. “You’re getting old.”   
“I guess so.” He laughed, taking it from between her fingers. “Mom! Dad! Look what Piper found!”

The two returned to their home. Piper’s nausea and anxiety had subsided after finding Larry’s gray hair. He held her hand on the ride home as they both stared at their phone screens. It was on this ride to their apartment that Piper realized Larry’s gray hair was the most interesting thing Larry had presented in their entire week. Everything else had been talk of sports and court cases he was working on. Conversations between him and Pete about Polly’s pregnancy or how his father was planning a fishing trip that Larry really didn’t want to attend. Things that Piper simply didn’t care about. She used to care so much. Or did she actually never care at all?   
Larry kissed her head before climbing into the shower. Piper sat on the couch, stewing on her thoughts. Did she ever find Larry interesting? Yes. At the beginning. Or did she find him interesting because she loved him? Did she still love him? Yes. Did she feel guilty about what she’d done with Alex? No. Well, yes. She had to feel at least a little bit guilty because she ended things for Larry’s sake. Right? Or did she end things because that’s what she was supposed to do, like a perfectly folded hand towel. Piper felt her nausea returning.   
She climbed into bed, staring at the beige sheets under her. The thought of Alex came back. The way her hands gripped her thighs. The way she’d picked her up and set her on the sink seemingly effortlessly. The memory of Alex’s tongue against her clit was enough to get her excited all over again.   
Larry tossed himself onto the bed next to her. He gave her a smile before he kissed her goodnight and settled under the covers. Within moments he was asleep. Piper was wide awake. In the dark, their alarm clock read 9:32pm. She was twenty-five years old, engaged to a lawyer, and going to sleep at 9:32 on a friday night. It hit her. Life was boring. Larry was boring. This was boring. That was the whole reason she’d taken the job at the funeral home. Because she was bored with her stupid, boring little life. Piper wanted to cry. How had she become this? Only five years ago she was living life as if the sun wasn’t going to rise in the morning. She was going out every night. She was sleeping with whoever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She was usually hitting her first bar of the night at this time, five years ago. Now she was looking at wedding dresses on Pinterest with her wine-loving future mother in-law.   
She used to live off her parents money, drinking all night, and skipping her college classes. She used to wake up in strangers’ beds. Men or women. Now she was with someone who would never be able to wrap his mind around her finding women attractive. She was living in a lavish apartment, not struggling for anything, most times getting anything she asked for. She had her life together. But she didn’t want to have it together. She didn’t want to be married. She didn’t want to have Larry’s kids. She didn’t want to be in this bed right now. Her nausea was coming back and it was coming back strong. Piper threw herself out of bed, running to the bathroom.


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains pretty graphic violence. As always, please give me some feedback of what you guys think! Thank you so much for reading :)

“Wait,” Lorna said. “So you ate this girl’s pussy, made her cum, and then she broke up with you? That is so fucked up!” She was practically shouting over the booming music of the club they were in.   
“She didn’t break up with me, Lorna, we were never a thing!” Alex shouted back.  
“Look, all I know is, we’re gonna get you laid and get you over it!” Nicky grabbed three shots from the bartender before distributing them to the two girls at her side.   
“I’m not-” Alex threw the shot back, wincing at the burn in her throat. “I’m not sad about it.”   
“Yeah, then why’d I have to practically drag your ass out here tonight?” Nicky asked, throwing back her own shot. She reached in her jacket pocket, retrieving a small baggie.   
“Here, girls.” She set a small white pill in each of their hands. They each toasted each other, tapping their own pill against each other’s before swallowing them down. Nicky clapped her hands.   
“Let’s get out there and find you another skinny blonde girl to fawn over for the next few hours.”   
The three women headed to the dance floor. Naturally, Lorna stuck to Nicky’s side. In truth, Alex didn’t feel like being here tonight. She already felt like shit because she and Nicky had had another one of their benders the night before. Although she was not a fan of Poussey, firing her wasn’t something she’d enjoyed doing. Piper pulling the stunt she had was only the cherry on top of the shit flavored cake that was her day. Nicky practically did drag her out, begging her not to lie in bed and drink wine while she scrolled through TikTok all night.   
Being out on the dance floor of a sleazy club, waiting on the high of the ecstasy she’d just taken was probably going to be more fun, sure. But she was going to complain about it the entire way there.   
“Nicky, none of these girls are even remotely cute.” She said, looking over the dancefloor, writhing with sweaty, glittering bodies.   
“Look harder, Vause.” Nicky advised. Lorna was already in her own world, dancing with herself. Alex scanned the crowd. There were women who were attractive, just none she felt interest in. She locked eyes with a slender red-headed woman. She was dancing with her friends, grinding against one of them slowly. Alex watched her closely. The woman smiled at her, lowering herself to the floor and then back up again, running her hands through her hair.   
“I’d say she’s pretty cute.” Nicky commented, nudging Alex forward. Alex shoved Nicky playfully before approaching the woman.   
“You’re quite the dancer.” Alex said, giving a smile.  
“Do you dance?” She asked. Alex could smell the liquor on her breath. The woman was noticeably drunk.   
“Wanna find out?”   
The two began to dance, Alex wrapping her in her arms as the girl whined her hips. She was noticeably much shorter than her but that didn’t seem to matter. Alex could feel the pill she’d taken beginning to kick in, making the movements the woman was making against her body feel even better.   
“What’s your name?” The woman asked, setting her hands on Alex’s hips.  
“Does it matter?” She asked.   
“I’m Venice.”   
“Cool.” Alex kissed her. Suddenly the booming of the speakers felt fantastic. The vibrations of the room were surging through Alex’s entire body. She began to sweat. The woman was grabbing at Alex’s shirt, pulling her into her messily. She was aggressively pulling at Alex’s hair in an attempt to be playfully rough. Alex jerked her head away, breaking their kiss.   
“Stop.” Alex shook her head.  
“Are you okay?” She asked.   
“Yeah, I just, I gotta go.” Alex was feeling sick. She found the dirty club bathroom. There were women lined against the wall, waiting to use the stalls. She could feel the heat in her body dropping from her head to her feet. Her body began to shake.   
Alex headed back to the dance floor, searching desperately for her friends. She looked for Nicky’s wild hair or Lorna’s bright lipstick. Neither were to be found. Alex exited the club, walking out onto the streets. Her teeth were chattering. She was debating between taking a cab back to her apartment or to a hospital.   
Alex leaned against the cold brick of the building, struggling to take in deep breaths.   
“You alright?” A man’s voice asked. She looked over, meeting eyes with a tall, brown eyed individual.   
“Yeah.” She sighed. She patted at her pockets. “Fuck.” She whined.   
“Lost your smokes?” He asked.   
“Yeah.”   
“Here, bum one off me.” He offered her one from his pocket. Alex took it, accepting his lighter as well.   
“You here by yourself?” He asked.   
“Look man, if you’re trying to get in my pants, it’s not gonna happen.” She said.   
“Not at all.” He laughed. “Name’s Kubra.” He introduced himself.  
“Alex.” She replied. Her anxiety was beginning to settle as she inhaled off her cigarette.   
“What do you do, Alex?” He asked.   
“I uh...I own a funeral home.” She looked at him. His floral print shirt was blowing in the breeze. She noticed the street felt somewhat quieter than usual.   
“Vause Funeral Home?” He asked, a sinister smirk spreading across his face. Alex straightened up, taking a step back from him.   
“No. Not that one.” She began to back away.   
“Really? Because if I remember correctly, a funeral home owner named Alex Vause is the one in charge of handling my product.” Kubra began to step towards her.   
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Alex flicked her cigarette at him, hitting him in the face with it. He growled and flinched as the cherry caught him near the eye. Alex ran back inside the club, her heart beating hard in her chest. She ran into Nicky on the staircase down to the dance floor.   
“I was just looking for you, where the fuck did you go?” Nicky asked, smiling.   
“Nicky we have to go.” Alex said urgently, looking behind her towards the entrance.   
“What? Why?” Nicky asked.   
“Nicky.” Alex looked into her eyes. Nicky didn’t ask anymore questions.   
“We gotta grab Lorn.”   
The two women found Lorna near the bar, downing another shot. They took off across the dance floor, Lorna protesting the entire way. They exited through the emergency door where they rushed onto a side street before hailing a cab. Lorna blabbered away as she sat in between the two women in the backseat. They arrived at Nicky’s apartment where they tucked Lorna into bed, once again ignoring her protests.   
Alex and Nicky went to the living room, talking in hushed voices.   
“What the fuck happened?” Nicky asked, looking back towards her bedroom to make sure Lorna was where they’d left her.   
“I went outside to smoke a cigarette and some fucking guy-” Alex was pacing the floor. “This guy said his name was Kubra and he knew my name. He knew the funeral home.”   
“Okay?” Nicky shrugged.   
“He was scary, Nicky. He said something about-” She lowered her voice. “Something about his product.”   
Nicky’s face fell.   
“What?”   
“Yes. He fucking came at me and I ran off.”   
“Oh no.” Nicky put her hands in her hair. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!” She began to pace as well. Her teeth were grinding.   
“Who did the last delivery? Who ran the last body Nicky?” Alex asked.   
“Luschek!”   
“Would he have taken it?” Alex asked.   
“I don’t....I don’t think so.” She shook her head.   
“Did something go wrong? What the fuck does this guy want?” Alex asked, panic in her voice.   
“Let me call Luschek.” Nicky said calmly. She scrolled through her phone, tapping the screen a few times before throwing it to the ground.   
“Fuck!” She yelled. “He’s blocked me on everything.”   
“So he fucking took it?!” Alex shouted back.  
“I don’t know! I don’t know Alex!” Nicky threw herself down on the couch.   
“What do we do?” Alex sat next to her, tapping her foot wildly. She could feel her teeth beginning to grind in her mouth as well. A knock on the door caused them both to flinch.   
“Nicky.” Alex said.   
“Relax. It’s alright.” Nicky rose from the couch, creeping towards the door. The knock came again, louder this time.   
“Who is it?” Nicky called.   
“Open this fucking door.” A man’s voice commanded. Alex recognized it as the man from the club. Nicky had barely gotten the deadbolt undone when the door came flying in. The man stepped inside, two men following behind him.   
“Sit your ass down.” He demanded, pulling a gun from his belt.   
“Fuck!” Nicky yelped, joining Alex on the couch. One of the men behind Kubra shut and locked the door.   
“You bitches owe me an explanation, right fucking now.” Kubra cocked his gun, pointing it at Alex’s forehead.   
“Listen man, we know what you’re here about-” Nicky started.  
“Shut up!” He yelled. “You.” He said to Alex. “Tell me where the fuck it is.”   
“It’s supposed to be on it’s way to California but the driver we sent it with took it and ran.” Alex said, on the verge of tears.   
“Who’s the driver?” He asked. Alex looked to Nicky. Nicky had her head down, looking at the floor. “Who. Is. The. Fucking. Driver?” He said, the anger in his voice rising.   
“Look, Kubra, please-” He hit Nicky over the back of the head with the butt of his gun, sending her to the floor. Nicky cried out, holding her hands to her head. He pounced on Alex, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt.   
Lorna emerged from the bedroom, stumbling around.   
“Nicky?” She asked. One of the two men grabbed her, placing his own gun to the side of her head.   
“Don’t! Please fucking don’t.” Alex cried, closing her eyes.   
“You tell me who this driver is or I’m killing you and both your friends right now, do you hear me?” He hissed. His breath smelled of cigars and he was close enough that Alex could feel his stubble on his chin brushing against her cheek.  
“Alex what the fuck is going on?” Lorna asked, fear in her voice.   
“Joel Luschek. It’s Joel Luschek.” Alex admitted.   
“Where does he stay?”   
“Near Flatbush, in a trailer. He drives a blue pick-up truck.”   
Kubra looked her in the eyes. He let go of her collar, throwing her back against the couch.   
“You better fucking hope he’s got my shit.” He growled. “Take care of them.” He said to the man holding Lorna. Before Alex knew it the man was hitting Lorna with the butt of his gun while the other began to approach Nicky, who still lay on the floor.   
“You’re gonna sit here and watch.” Kubra said to Alex. “You’re gonna see what the fuck happens when people are careless with my shit.” He exited the apartment, closing the door behind him.   
“You feel like a real man huh?” Nicky struggled to climb to her feet. “Beatin’ up a woman!” She shouted, stumbling. Her blonde curls were running red with blood. The man landed a punch against her face.   
“Stop! Please!” Alex shouted with tears streaming down her face. Lorna was still being beaten, crying out in pain and begging for them to stop. Nicky was on the ground again, being kicked in the stomach. The beating continued for what felt like an eternity. It only stopped once the men grew tired, both of them panting and looking down at the mess of blood they’d caused on Nicky’s carpet. One of the men gave the other a nod before the two neared the front door. The taller of the two opened the door before giving another glance to Alex, curled up on the couch, holding her hands over her face.   
“We’ll be in touch.” He smiled, before finally leaving. As soon as the door clicked shut, Alex dove to the floor, reaching for Nicky.   
“Nicky? Please…” She looked at her friend, bleeding from her nose and lips.   
“I’m fine,” Nicky coughed, splattering blood on the side of Alex’s face. “Where’s Lorna? Lorna!” She shouted through labored breathing. She began to crawl on her stomach towards the other woman, who was no longer moving. “Lorna…” She reached her, setting her hand on the woman’s already bruising face. Blood was spilling out of the corner of her mouth. “Hey! Hey!” She yelled, slapping her hand against her cheek.   
“Lorna?” Alex crouched over her.   
“Call 911!” Nicky shouted. “Right fucking now!” She scooped Lorna into her arms, shaking her. “Lorn, please, don’t do this...Please don’t fucking do this.”   
Alex scrambled to find her cellphone.   
“Nicky, if I call 911, the cops are gonna wanna know how the fuck this happened.” Alex said.   
“I don’t fucking care! Call them!” Nicky screamed. Alex didn’t move, looking down at her two friends.   
“Alex!” Nicky shouted. “Give me the fucking phone!” She let go of Lorna to tear the phone away from Alex’s grasp. She dialed 911 herself. 

In the fluorescent lights of the hospital waiting room, Alex sat next to Nicky. She’d been seen by a nurse but the worst of her injuries were a broken nose and a slight concussion from Kubra hitting her with the butt of his gun. Lorna, however, her brain was swelling. Nicky had to be the one to call Lorna’s sister and inform her.   
“So you walked into the robbery?” The police officer standing in front of them asked, his hands on his belt.   
“Yeah.” Alex nodded. It was four in the morning yet, she was wide awake. “I walked in the door and saw two guys going out the fire escape.”   
“And what did they steal?” The officer asked.   
“I had a safe in my room that they took.” Nicky answered, her voice raspy. Her eyes and nose were bruised horribly. Her bottom lip was swollen to the point it hindered her speech.   
“A safe? Is that it?” The officer asked in a slightly condescending way.   
“Yeah.” Nicky scoffed. “That’s it.”   
“What were your names again, girls?”   
“Nicky Nichols.”   
“Alex Vause.”   
“Alex Vause?” The officer smiled. “You buried my brother.”   
“Sorry for your loss.” Alex remarked. It was almost like muscle memory to spit out those words.   
“Can you give me a description of these guys? You said there were two of them?” He asked, his tone of voice was a bit kinder now.   
“Look, honestly,” Nicky stood, steadying herself on the chair. “I just want this to be over, alright?”   
“Ma’am, we still have to take a report.” The officer said.   
“Two assholes dressed in black broke into my apartment, stole my shit, wrecked my place, and beat my friend half to death. They’re gone. You’re not gonna fuckin’ find ‘em. There’s your report.” Nicky said aggressively, making a few people in the waiting room turn their heads in curiosity.   
“Nick, sit down.” Alex set her hand on Nicky’s. Nicky lowered herself back into the chair, wincing in pain.   
“And you walked in and found them?” The officer looked to Alex.   
“Yes, officer.” She nodded.   
“Well, we’ll do the best we can with the info you’ve given us but, there’s not much to go off of. Are you sure you didn’t hear any names? Did they have any tattoos?” He pushed.   
“No.” Nicky answered simply.   
“Ms.Vause?”   
“No.” She sighed. “Not that I remember.”   
“Okay.” He shrugged. “Well, here’s my card, if you decide you remember anything.”   
He handed her a card that read Matthew Bennett NYPD with his phone number written below it. He gave them a nod before leaving.   
“Nicky…” Alex said, tightening her hold on her friend’s hand. “I’m sorry.”   
“You didn’t do anything.” Nicky said. Her hair was matted to one side of her head with dried blood.   
“Exactly. I didn’t do anything. I just sat there.” Alex began to cry.   
“What the fuck were you supposed to do? They had guns.” Nicky shrugged her shoulders.   
“This isn’t fun anymore.” Alex said in a shaky voice.   
“It was never fun, Vause.” She scoffed. “We didn’t start doin’ this because we were lookin’ for a fuckin’ party. This was to keep from going under.”   
“I know.” The taller woman lay her head on her friend’s shoulder. “I never meant for anybody to get hurt.”   
“She wasn’t even a part of this. She was never a fuckin’ part of this.” Nicky began to cry too. “I never told her a damn thing about it because I thought it’d keep her from getting hurt.”   
“It’s not…” Alex sighed. “It’s not our fault. We held up our end of the deal, every time.”   
“Lorna was never a part of the deal, Vause.” Nicky said angrily. “Now look. She might not make it. That wasn’t her fault.”   
“Nicky…”   
“You better get goin’. We’ve got services in a couple hours.”   
Alex rose from her chair, looking at her friend. She looked like a fourth of the person she used to be. Her hair flattened on one side. Dried blood speckled across her cheeks like freckles. Her eyes were hardly open through the swelling and her pupils were unseeable through the tears. One of her thick eyebrows were split in half by a gash that none of the nurses cared to tend to.   
“Go.” Nicky said. “I’ll leave when her sister gets here.”   
Alex nodded. She didn’t believe Nicky would be leaving when Lorna’s sister arrived. She knew she wouldn’t be leaving until Lorna was leaving with her. 

Piper arrived at the office, finding it eerily quiet. She walked through the back hallway, finding that none of the lights were on.   
“Nicky? Lorna?” She called. Her voice echoed through the halls. She’d never been inside the funeral home by herself. She crept through the lobby, flipping on the lights. No Red either. She checked her watch. She wasn’t early or late. She opened the chapel door, finding Alex sitting in the front row, looking up at a crucifix on the wall.   
“Alex?” She asked quietly. The woman didn’t respond. Piper couldn’t see her face, only her hair and her glasses sitting atop her head. She approached the other woman, her heels clicking loudly in the silent chapel. She took the seat next to her.   
Alex smelled of cigarettes and Chanel perfume. Her eyes were red and the dark circles were prominent. The woman sniffled, not looking away from the crucifix.   
“Do you believe in all that stuff?” Alex asked.   
“What stuff?” Piper asked, looking at the crucifix. “God?”   
Alex nodded.   
“Well...no.” She shrugged. “My mom and dad always did. They always made us go to church and everything but, none of it ever made any sense to me.”   
“Diane believed so hard.” Alex sniffled again. “She’d always get so angry with me and tell me I needed to ask for his forgiveness, the way she had. Me and Nicky both.”   
“Why? Because you’re gay?” Piper scoffed.   
“No. Not because of that.” Alex chuckled. “We just...never had our heads on straight.”   
“Are you okay, Al?” Piper set her hand on Alex’s. Alex didn’t protest it.  
“I’m okay. Just...thinking about some things.” She nodded.   
“Is it your mom?”   
“My mom. My friends. My life.” Alex shrugged. “What’re you thinking about, Piper?”   
“I’m wondering where everybody is and why my boss is acting kinda strange.” She answered.  
“No. What are you really thinking about?” Alex turned to face her. She looked into her blue eyes, seeing Piper’s perfectly applied mascara. The blonde woman took a deep breath in, breaking their eye contact. She looked at the painting on the ceiling, admiring the tiny cherub wings. The way the artist had perfectly painted their chubby bellies and rosy cheeks. They sat in silence for a moment.   
“I’m thinking...I made a mistake.” Piper sighed. “I’m thinking that I wish I could wake up one morning and be twenty years old again. Or maybe not even go back. Just wake up and leave. I wish I could disappear into a place where I’m always happy.”   
“I wish I could disappear too.” Alex said quietly.   
“Where would you go?”   
“Wherever my mom is.” She answered.   
“Alex.” A voice came from the opening of the chapel. The two women turned to see Tasha standing in the doorway. “There’s a removal and I can’t find Lorna or Nicky.”   
“Lorna’s out of town for a while, she went to visit her sister.” Alex stood, straightening her suit jacket. Piper followed after her.   
“I can go, Taystee.” Piper said.   
“It’s Tasha.” She snapped. Both Alex and Piper were taken aback by her.   
“Piper and I got it. Nicky should be in later.” Alex said flatly, looking down at Tasha. “Let’s go, Pipes.”   
“The police are there so make it fast.” Tasha said. 

Piper collected the paperwork from the fax machine, filling it out as Alex drove the van.   
“Where are we going?” Alex asked in a tired voice.   
“Um, it looks like a trailer park in Flatbush.” Piper answered. Alex’s blood ran cold. “The name’s Joel William Luschek.”   
The women arrived on the scene to find two police officers. The trailer had been taped off as a crowd began to gather.   
“What uh...What happened?” Alex asked the officer, looking at the front door of the trailer swaying in the breeze.   
“Suicide.” The officer answered, leading them inside. The trailer was cluttered but otherwise clean. Drug paraphernalia littered the small dinner table. “Careful ladies, lotta needles in here.”   
The officer led them to the bedroom where they found the body on the bed. Joel Luschek was in nothing except his underwear and a pair of black socks. He lay flat on his back on the bed. His left arm was curled near his head with a nine millimeter pistol wrapped in his cold hand. Alex recognized it as the one that’d been used to hit Nicky the previous night. His blood was pooled underneath his head onto the sheetless mattress.   
“Are we taking him to the forensic center?” Alex asked.   
“No. The coroner signed off already. The guy left a note and everything. The guy’s a junkie with a few drug dealing charges. He had a warrant and he’d be going away for quite a while so they think that’s what caused it.” The officer grabbed a bloody piece of paper off the nightstand and showed it to Alex. “Look, he even wrote that he wanted you guys to be the ones to do his funeral.”   
Alex read over the note. The handwriting was shaky. She imagined Kubra breaking into Luschek’s home and holding a gun on him while he forced him to write his own suicide note. At the bottom, in capital letters, Luschek wrote: I REQUEST VAUSE FUNERAL HOME BE WHO MY FAMILY CHOOSES TO BURY MY BODY. I LOVE YOU MOM. GOODBYE.   
Alex felt sick.   
“Well, I guess it's nice that he chose us?” Piper said awkwardly, placing the toe tag around the big toe on his left foot. They did the rest of the removal in silence. Alex did as much as she could despite feeling as if she were about to either faint or burst into tears. She asked Piper to drive them back to the office.   
When they returned, Alex didn’t waste time putting the body into the cooler before going to her office. She picked up her office phone, dialing a few numbers.   
“Hello?” A man’s voice answered.   
“Fahri.” Alex said. “Can you meet with me today?”   
“Honey, I really-”   
“Please Fahri.”  
The line went quiet for a moment.  
“Okay. I’ll see you at noon.” 

Alex and Fahri met at the same bar that Alex had taken Piper to the night they’d danced. She’d left Piper alone with Tasha to take care of things at the funeral home. Fahri sat across from her in a booth tucked away in the corner of the pub. He ordered a whiskey, sipping it as he looked at the woman across from him. Alex was a nervous, shaking mess. She’d decided against a drink but was beginning to regret it. She felt like a stupid child, sitting here trembling in front of a man she was supposed to be doing business with.   
“What’s going on?” He asked. Alex took a deep breath in, rubbing her eyes under her glasses. She felt more comfortable with Fahri than she did most others she’d met while doing such business.   
“Kubra. I met Kubra.” She said shakily. Fahri glanced at the bartender, nodding his head. The waitress soon brought over a drink and set it in front of Alex. She downed her jack and coke in a matter of moments.   
“He beat my friends half to death, Fahri.” She coughed.   
“Why? What happened?” Fahri asked, his voice unwavering.   
“Our driver, the one Nicky knows...knew...he took the drugs and he ran.”   
“You didn’t take any of his shit, did you?” Fahri asked, lowering his voice.   
“No. I’m not a fucking idiot.” Alex looked around the bar. She couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched.   
“If he found his shit and he took care of the problem, you’re fine, Alex.”   
“He knows where Nicky lives. He probably knows where I live. He knows where we work!” She chewed on her fingernail.   
“Alex, baby,” Fahri reached across the table and took her hand in his. His skin was calloused but his hands were warm on Alex’s cold flesh. His touch was a comfort. “Kubra is not an irrational man. As long as you do what he asks of you, you’ll be fine. He took care of the rat and once you get back to business he’ll leave you alone again. This is the first time you’ve met the man in the year and a half you’ve been working for him, no?”   
Alex nodded.   
“Then my best guess is he’ll fade back into the shadows and business will go back to usual. Just, don’t hire another driver like that one. Kubra doesn’t allow second chances.”   
“Fahri, I don’t want to do this anymore.” Alex whispered. Fahri looked around the bar before leaning in towards Alex.   
“That’s not how this works, Alex.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “I told you that when you came to me, wanting to be a part of this. I told your friend Nicky that too.”   
“Fahri, my friend is in the hospital because of him.”   
“No, she’s in the hospital because of a mishap that happened on your end of the deal.” Fahri’s tone got serious. “As long as you do what you are supposed to do, Alex. You. Will. Be. Fine.”  
Alex pulled her hand away. She grabbed her jacket and purse out of the booth beside her and rose to her feet.   
“If I go down, Fahri, I am fucking taking you with me.” She hissed. Fahri rose out of his seat quickly, grabbing her wrist.   
“Like fuck you will.” He growled back. Alex broke his hold on her before leaving the pub, setting a $10 bill on the bar to cover her drink. 

Alex returned to the funeral home, trudging up to her office. She had sat down in her office chair for a total of thirty seconds before a knock on the door interrupted her. Piper opened the door, looking at her boss.   
“Alex, there’s a man here to see you.” Alex threw herself out of her chair, pulling Piper inside with her. She shut the door, looking at her.   
“What does he look like? Did he say his name?”   
“No-” Piper held her hands up in front of her, looking into Alex’s eyes. “Are you on something? What the hell is going on with you right now?”   
“I’m fine, Piper.” Alex cracked the door, peering into the hall. She found Tasha speaking with a man in a suit. Alex ducked back into her office, breathing deeply. Piper stared at her.   
“Alex, I’m seriously worried about you.” She said, placing her hand on Alex’s shoulder. Alex ran her hand through her hair and straightened her glasses. She stood up straight and took another deep breath in before nodding her head.   
“Okay. It’s fine.” She exited her office, approaching the man in the hall.   
“Alex!” He smiled, wrapping her in a hug.   
“Doug, how are you?” She smiled.   
“Oh I’m fine, how’re you beautiful?”   
“Stop.” She laughed, nudging his shoulder. “What brings you out here today?”   
“We had a meeting today.” He said, looking a bit surprised. “Did you forget?”   
“No,” Alex lied, shaking her head. “Of course I remember.” She looked to Tasha who had an annoyed look on her face. “Come on into my office, we’ll discuss.”   
Tasha followed the two into Alex’s office. The three took a seat, exchanging a few more jokes and fake laughter before diving into their conversation.   
“Tasha was telling me that sales have been up lately, Alex. That’s great to hear.” Doug said, crossing his long legs as he spoke.   
“Great for us, for everyone else, not so much.” Alex chuckled.   
“Right you are. This brings me to my proposition I have for you and Tasha here.” He sighed, taking on a serious tone. “Sales are fantastic. The building still looks just as beautiful as it did ten years ago. But, you are no longer cremating people. Cremations are now 55% of the death services the funeral industry provides to families. I take it despite sales, you cannot afford to hire a crematory operator?” He asked.   
“That’s not the issue at hand sir,” Tasha interjected. “We can absolutely afford a crematory operator as both Alex and I are certified in that position. It’s the new machine we can’t afford. The one we have in the old crematory is simply too old to use. We’re working on saving to find a new machine that’s within our budget. Isn’t that right, Alex?” She asked.   
“Yes, ma’am it is.” Alex answered. She was doing her best to keep her head in the conversation but she couldn’t help but remember the image of Nicky’s bruised face and the way Kubra’s stubble had felt against her cheek.   
“You and Alex can’t do everything around here, Tasha.” Doug said. “You’re already the only two directors, two of the three embalmers, and two members of your now smaller removal team. The fact of the matter is, you cannot afford to hire more people as well as buy a new crematory machine. Alex, you’re getting older. You’ve been with this place since you were fifteen for Christ’s sakes.”   
“Doug.” Alex sighed. “You do this to me every year. I am not selling out my share of the company to FCI.”   
“Funeral Corporation International is willing to pay you two hundred thousand for your share Alex. Tasha, we’re willing to give you one hundred.”   
Tasha looked to Alex.   
“If I were to sell my share-”   
“Tasha!” Alex barked.   
“If I were to sell my share,” Tasha continued, ignoring Alex. “I would like the same amount you’re willing to give Alex.”   
“You only own a fourth of the funeral home, Tasha. You’re lucky we’re offering you half.”   
“I’m not selling my share. That’s the bottom line.” Alex said.   
“I won’t be here again to ask you next year, Alex.” Doug stood from his chair, buttoning his tan colored suit jacket. “With the way the industry is going, you won’t last another five years.”  
“And those five years will be spent taking care of the place my mother built, Doug. You have a nice day.”   
He gave Alex another look before leaving his office. Tasha looked at Alex.   
“Alex, we’ve talked about this-”   
“No, Taystee, you’ve talked about this. I tell you every goddamn year for the past two years that I am not selling my share of this funeral home.”   
“Why, Alex? Why? We’re goin’ the fuck under! He’s right! We won’t last another five years the way we’re goin’ now. Do you know how much a hundred grand could do for me? My family?”   
“Then you sell your fucking share Taystee. But don’t you ever tell anyone you had anything to do with this place.” Alex said quietly.   
“As if this place means anything to anybody anymore. I stayed because I loved your mom like my own. I stuck around because I didn’t wanna believe you were what everybody said you were. They were right, Alex. You’re a fuckin’ joke. You and your junkie friend.” Tasha shook her head, leaving the office.   
Alex sunk into her chair, defeated. 

Nicky sat at Lorna’s bedside, looking her over. She held her hand, looking at her perfectly manicured nails. The swelling on her brain had gone down on its own but the doctor still wanted Lorna to stay to continue being monitored. Lorna’s sister had arrived and stayed for a little while. She left after she found out Lorna would most likely be fine.   
A patch of Lorna’s hair had been shaved so that the doctor’s could stitch up a large laceration that was the result of being hit with one of the men’s guns. It was beyond Nicky how she managed to make it out with such little injury while her perfectly innocent friend was lying here, struggling. Lorna, who always looked so beautiful, hardly resembled herself. Nicky combed a strand of stray tuft of hair off of Lorna’s face as she slept. It was late into the night and the hospital was quiet. She let go of Lorna’s hand as she snuck away into the hallway, looking for a vending machine. She hadn’t eaten the entire time she’d been at the hospital since they arrived around two that morning. She hadn’t slept either.   
She inserted a dollar bill into the machine only for it to be spit back out. She tried two more times to no avail. Nicky kicked her foot against the machine in anger.   
“Damn, what’d that thing do to you, Nicky?”   
Nicky stiffened. She turned to meet eyes with Kubra.   
“Told you we’d be in touch.” He smiled. Nicky shook her head, backing away.   
“Don’t be scared. We’re in a hospital. What could I do to you here, huh?” He asked quietly. Nicky looked around, hoping to find a nurse.   
“What the hell do you want from me, huh? You’ve already beat the shit outta me, Alex gave you the guy’s name.”   
“I took care of him. That’s no longer an issue.” Kubra nodded. “I’ve already taken care of everything I need to take care of with your friend Alex.”   
Nicky racked her brain, trying to remember when the last time she’d spoken to Alex was. They hadn’t spoken since Alex had left that morning.   
“What do you mean?” Nicky stood up straight. “Where’s Alex?”   
“She’s fine. Probably.” Kubra shrugged. He looked at his watch. “I wanted to talk to you about some things I found out from your friend Joel Luschek. Some things your friend Alex doesn’t know about. Why don’t you come outside with me, have a smoke?”   
“If I go outside with you, will you leave Lorna alone?” Nicky asked.   
“I have no interest in your little girlfriend, Nicky.” Kubra tucked his hands into his pockets. “Now. Come. Outside. With me.”   
Nicky followed Kubra into the cold night air. She was shivering as he led her past the smoking areas to the parking garage.   
“Okay, we’ve gone a little too far man, I really don’t wanna-”  
“Shut up.” He said calmly. A black car drove up next to the two of them. Kubra opened the door and motioned for Nicky to get in. Nicky looked around, hoping someone- anyone, could see her right now. Nicky shuffled around for a moment, looking between Kubra and the darkness of the car’s backseat. His hardened face was unmoving. She wouldn’t be able to outrun him. Nicky took a deep breath and climbed inside.


End file.
